White Lies
by netracullen
Summary: Overly confident but naive 19-year-old Bella meets a charming but secretly married 31-year-old Edward. When she finds herself swept into his life, she's in for a lot more than she bargained for. If only she could walk away. E/R, E/B, Lang, Lemons
1. Chapter 1

**Bella POV**

Semi Precious Weapons – Semi Precious Weapons

"Do we have to do this?" she asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"It's my fucking birthday, so we're doing it. Shut up, you know you'll love it."

She sighed.

"At least we look good," she said with a small smirk. I turned around and shot her my most winning smile.

"Damn right, we do."

It was my 19th birthday and I was hitting the town, fake ID in hand, fully intent on having an amazing night my room mate Lauren. She wasn't necessarily my first choice, but Angela was attached at the hip (in every sense of the phrase) to her brand new fiancé and there was no way we would have been able to lure her out for a night of man eating.

We had made a bet as a way for her to have some fun, because apparently, at places like this, fun was impossible for her without some kind of gimmick to keep her entertained. Whoever could score the most free drinks got their laundry for the month done by whoever got the least. I was absolutely down for the bet, seeing as there was absolutely no way that she would beat me. Lauren came across as a super hot ice queen, that is, until she was drunk. Then she would latch onto the first guy who smiled or winked at her, and there are very few guys who will buy a girl drinks when she's already rubbing her hands on his crotch. I, on the other hand, had the doe-eyed, innocent looking thing down to a science. An infallible, guaranteed science. It was gravity 2.0.

Lauren hadn't been lying when she'd said that we looked good. She was dressed in a black dress and outrageous hot pink peep toe heels, but her platinum blonde short do, with a heavy fringe and short sides, made her look edgy and alternate, rather than like a barbie wannabe. Her long limbs and waifish frame meant that she never looked tacky or slutty, even when wearing torn up stockings and daisy dukes with a men's flannel shirt. Lucky bitch. I hadn't liked Lauren a lot when we met, but I found that underneath her cold exterior was a cool girl with an _amazing _wardrobe, who'd lived in New York her whole life and introduced me to an awesome scene that I would never have discovered on my own.

I was in a strapless dress covered entirely in silver sequins. It wasn't often we went to a place like this, so we had decided to go all out. My hair was fluffy and wavy, coming down to just about where the top started, and the longest layers tumbling down my back, almost hitting my waist. I had thrown on some black strappy heels and my grandmother's antique sapphire pendant, which hung just between my collarbones. She'd left it to me because she said that blue was my colour, and I loved it to death.

We smiled and batted our eyelashes at the bouncer, then sashayed into the club. It was a Friday night, and so the place was full of men in suits, which I certainly wasn't objected to. There was no denying that a man in a good suit was a fun thing to look at, especially when you're used to guys in ripped skinny jeans. Non-descript electro music blared around us, and we found ourselves involuntarily moving to the beat that was pulsing through the ground.

"This place actually isn't too bad," Lauren spoke into my ear, and I smiled. Lauren was a self confessed indie snob, she hated anything that was even remotely like this, so I was thrilled that she wasn't going to sulk all night. Two guys, neither one particularly memorable, waved at us and motioned to their drinks, a wordless invitation. We smiled, clasped our hands together and moved to join them. The game was on.

Two hours later, I was sitting on four drinks, to Lauren's five. However, she was now underneath some weird guy who looked coked out of his mind on a couch, so I was now free to retake the lead. Lauren saw me looking at her, smiled smugly and waved, moving each finger individually to remind me that how many drinks she was on. I rolled my eyes and headed to the bar, needing a drink, regardless of whether or not I had to pay for it. I leaned over the bar slightly, trying to attract the attention of the bar tender, who was flirting with some idiot guys for tips.

If the bartenders had been men, I would have had a drink by now. I'm just saying.

"Hello," I heard a quiet but commanding voice that somehow seemed to transcend the volume of the music and chatter address me. I turned around, smiling in the hope that I could maybe catch up to Lauren's score.

"Hell-oh." I looked up to set eyes on a man who almost made my legs give out. I actually had to place my hands behind me on the bar to stop myself from falling. I should have known that voice was attached to something like this. My mouth was hanging open slightly as I gazed at the man. He looked a little older than me, 5-6 years I would estimate, and was the most impeccably dressed man in the place, if not the city. His charcoal suit contoured his frame, accentuating broad shoulders and a long, lean body. Suddenly, my mission for free drinks was abandoned.

"Are you all on your own?" He asked, leaning next to me on the bar like he owned the place, exuding a sense of comfort and confidence that was utterly magnetic. I cleared my head and tried to converse with the gorgeous man before me.

"No, I'm with a friend, but she's," I stressed the female pronoun, "missing. I'm hanging here because I can't seem to get the bargirl to give me her time," I growled, leaning over the bar again to try and lure her away from the 40 year old men who were ogling her tits as they ordered drinks with sleazy names. How very original.

All of a sudden, the bartender headed straight towards me, and I couldn't believe my luck. I turned to see the god nodding at her. I should have known that she was responding to him.

"Of course, she only comes over because there's a hot man here now," I grumbled. He laughed and I was mortified at being caught, even though the sound of his laughter made it hard to think.

"That might well be it, but I think the fact that I'm related to the owner helps," he replied playfully.

"What can I get for you?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him in a way that made me sick. What a skank. She may as well have taken her top off. I turned to look at him, and his eyes were on me. Suck on that, Sluts McGee.

"Heidi, this gorgeous young lady and her friend are my guests, so whatever they desire tonight, you will give to them, free of charge of course, alright?" She nodded, then shot me a glare. I was surprised at his generosity, and a little part of me was excited to throw my good fortune in Lauren's face. Truth be told, I probably would have bought him a drink if it had given me the chance to speak to, and look at him some more.

"No, really, it's fine –"

"Do you drink vodka, beautiful?" he cut me off. I simply nodded. I probably would have accepted methylated spirits from him.

"Heidi, I think we'll start her with the house special, don't you?" She nodded and reached for the various liquors she needed. "And my usual, thanks." He turned his gaze to me, and half of his mouth lifted into a smile that would drop panties all over the world.

"I just realised, I don't know your name, beautiful."

"I'm Bella Swan." Shit, I sounded like I was 14 and introducing myself at cheer camp.

"Bella, how very fitting," he mused. I'd heard variations of that line before, most of which made my stomach turn, but with him, I was flattered. "I'm Edward Cullen." He extended his hand, and when I took it, he quickly brought mine to his lips before releasing it. I felt heat moving up my arm, originating from his hand on mine. When he released me, I had to stop myself from frowning… or snatching his hand back, which would have been completely mortifying.

"So you're on your own, Bella?" he inquired.

"It seems that way. Where are your friends?"

"They've all left me. If you like, I have a booth, you could call or text your friend and have her meet you there. In the meantime, we could talk for a while?" As if synchronised, Heidi the Whore set our drinks down on the bar.

"That sounds good to me," I agreed, before grabbing my drink, which looked much fancier than my normal drinks of choice. He put his hand on the small of my back and led me through the crowd to his table. He had the best spot in the place, which I didn't find surprising in the slightest.

I took a seat, and sat my drink down on the table. I realised then that I had no idea what I was about to drink.

"So what is this, Edward?" I asked gesturing to it. I liked saying his name. If I was being honest, I liked more or less everything about him.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked and winked at me. I rolled my eyes playfully but took a sip.

"Wow, it's so yummy. What is it?"

"It's a Georgia Peach. My brother-in-law, who owns the place, is from the south so sometimes he makes little jokes on the menus." I looked down at the drink and saw a piece of peach in it. That made sense. His arm rested on the couch behind my head and he leaned in to talk to me. He smelled delicious.

"So what do you do, Bella?"

You, hopefully.

_Whoa._ I'd never been happier that the verbal filter was still in place.

"I'm a photographer, and I work in a gallery."

"I should have known you would be beautiful and talented." I looked away, not used to this kind of flattery, especially not from such an attractive man.

"You've never even seen my photos, how do you know they're not terrible?" I teased.

"I sincerely doubt there is anything terrible about you," he replied.

"But you don't know me very well at all," I contradicted, and his smile turned wicked.

"Are you saying you're bad, Bella?"

"I have my moments." We were leaning into each other now, and the electricity was palpable. In an effort to stop myself from crawling into his lap as I sorely wanted to, I returned to the conversation.

"So what do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer." I should have known, he was so effortlessly smooth. It also explained the beautiful suit.

"That makes sense. You're quite the charmer, aren't you?"

"I have my moments," he mimicked my earlier words, and I laughed. I suddenly remembered Lauren, and quickly reached for my phone to text her when I saw the message icon flashing.

**B – Babe, went home with Chris, appt is urs. Brunch 2moz defs – L**

I laughed to myself, completely unsurprised and texted back.

**L – Who is Chris? You slutbag lol, 12pm tomoz or death awaits – B**

I looked back at him. He had leaned down to check his phone, and I took a moment to shamelessly ogle him. He had strong, masculine features, which were highlighted by a head of reddish-brown, almost bronze hair that spiked up over his head, not from a contrived effort, but just naturally, I suspected. A straight nose, obscenely appealing lips and a jaw line that couldn't be described using the confines of the English language completed his striking face. His looks were overwhelming, but I found myself focusing on his eyes. Jade green, the colour almost unsettling, and his irises were ringed with black. They were framed with long black eyelashes that only intensified the colour. They drew me in and I was completely powerless to break his hold on me. He was hypnotic, completely unescapable.

I finished my drink and a few moments later, he gestured Heidi over again and ordered us something else. The sheer hatred that radiated from her made me smile, and when he caught my expression, he smiled back, making my heart palpitate slightly. Before she could take away my empty glass, I reached in for the piece of peach at the bottom. It was infused with the liquor, and tasted so good. My tongue flicked out to catch a drop of liquor that had accumulated on my lip, and I looked up to see Edward watching my lips. I gently wiped it with my thumb, and he followed the movement before looking back to my eyes.

"So what's happening with your friend?" he asked, his voice smooth, deep and oh-so-attractive.

"She's… already gone," I couldn't stop the giggle that burst from my lips at that. He looked at me questioningly.

"She made a new friend and is having a sleepover at their house." Euphemism of the century, right there.

"Ahh," he said, smirking a little as he understood what I meant. "I guess you're stuck with me, then."

"Poor me," I scowled jokingly. I was going to have to buy Lauren a thankyou gift.

The next thing I knew, the bar was closing, and it was 3:30 in the morning. Not cool. I was nowhere near ready for this night to end. He extended a hand to me and I took it, happy for any excuse to make contact with him, and he pulled me from the booth. A little drunker than I thought I was, I let his strength pull me right into his chest. He laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leading me from the bar and onto the street. Being so late at night, it was slightly freezing outside, and I was starting to regret my outfit. Without a word, he pulled off his jacket, and placed it on my shoulders. It was almost a trench coat on me, but I didn't mind, because it smelled heavenly.

He pulled a packet of cigarettes from his back pocket, and offered it to me, but when I reached for it, he pulled back. I was perplexed by his gesture, but then he lit one for me and passed it back, ever the gentleman. Edward was a man of few words, but his movements and expressions told me more than any inane chatter. He was leaning against a wall, and I was standing in front of him, about two feet between us. We finished our cigarettes, exchanging looks and smirks, and he sighed.

"I guess it's home time," he said softly, although I could hear him perfectly. It felt like my ears had attuned to his quiet voice.

"It seems that way." I kind of wanted to cry at the thought.

"Where do you live, gorgeous?" he asked as a cab pulled up and he opened the door for me. I hopped in the back and he followed.

"SoHo, near the village."

"That's on my way. Well, not really, but I'm not putting you in a cab at this time of night on your own."

"Where do you live?" I asked suspiciously.

"93rd and Lex," he almost mumbled. The cabbie looked gleeful but I was horrified.

"Not happening. That's the opposite direction! I can't ask you to do that!"

"You're not asking. Please, Bella?" I slouched into my seat, pretending to sulk. I looked at his face, and couldn't sulk anymore. The charm was on with a vengeance. A crooked smirk was on his face at my childish actions and I couldn't help but smile back.

"That's my girl," he said affectionately as he brushed some hair back from my face, and I melted a bit. I rested my head on his shoulder for the duration of the ride, soaking in his presence. He rested a hand on my leg, his warmth tingling through me. The cab pulled up at my place, and I was devastated that our time had come to an end. I reached for my purse to get money, and he stopped me, shaking his head.

"I'll walk you in." He nodded to the cabbie and then opened the door, climbing out before reaching for my hand. We walked up the stairs and stood on the doorstep to my building.

"It really was a pleasure to meet you, Bella. Do you think we could do this again?" I nodded, too excited to say anything back. He passed me his phone and I entered my number, fumbling with the touch screen. I hated those damn things, especially when I was slightly inebriated. He took it from me and saved it quickly and easily, of course.

"Your jacket," I reminded him quietly, trying to hide how disappointed I was that the evening was ending so soon. He moved his hands towards me, as if to take his jacket, and placed them on my shoulders, brushing an errant strand of hair from my face. Our eyes were locked as he slowly tilted his head towards mine. I took a step closer, so that our chests were almost touching, showing him that I wanted this just as badly. Light as a feather, he brushed his mouth against mine. We both pulled back an inch, then pushed our lips back together with a greater intensity. I leaned into his kiss, trying not to stumble because let's face it, I was a little bit loaded. A couple of quick pecks later, he let me go, smoothly removing his jacket from my shoulders. He gripped my hand, pressed it to his lips and bid me goodnight.

I watched him get back into the cab and pull away, before heading inside. I closed the door to my apartment and leaned against it, sliding down to the floor. I sat there for a few minutes trying to clear my head before I got up, cleaned my teeth and crawled into bed. Just as I was dozing off, my phone chimed.

**Sleep well, beautiful. – E**


	2. Chapter 2

Lady Gaga – Beautiful, Dirty, Rich

**Edward POV**

"Oh, go fuck yourself, Edward." Before I could respond, I was met with the dial tone.

"Love you too, Rose," I spoke sardonically into the phone, before throwing it down on my bench a little harder than I should have.

I don't know why the fuck I married her. Sure, she was gorgeous, and our parents were thrilled, but the whole thing was a fucking joke. She lived upstate in our home, doing the whole ladies-who-lunch thing with her vapid friends, while I footed the bill. Luckily though, working in New York meant that I got to spend the majority of the week away from the soul-sucking whore, so much so that I even had an apartment there. She didn't miss me, and I knew damn well that Emmett, who looked more like a weight lifter than a gardener, was not on staff for his skills with a lawnmower.

We'd met a few times as children, growing up, mainly because my father, Carlisle Cullen, and hers, Robert "Bobby" Hale, had gone to college together. We met again at a society wedding when I was 25 and her 23, and she was cool, gorgeous, and passionate, so we started dating.

Two years later, we did the whole perfect wedding thing, and everything fucking changed. She had embraced her inner Stepford wife, and the Rose who would eat Chinese food with me on the hood of my car was long gone. The girl who I had loved, who would put big red lipstick kisses all over my face when I'd just showered so that I was dirty again and we could shower together, who cut down a tree herself just to prove to me that she really could do it leading to us having to run and hide from park rangers, that girl was MIA. In her place was this narcissistic, selfish, shallow woman who wore pastels, called everyone 'darling' and took bi-monthly spa trips to 'relax', even though she didn't ever do anything other than gossip and shop.

Jasper Whitlock, my sister Alice's husband, owned a whole bunch of clubs and restaurants around the city, and would, on occasion, tour through some of them, see how they ran on an average night. He'd pop in, surprise everyone. It was a good idea, it kept them on their feet so that they didn't get sloppy when the boss was with his wife and baby. And because my wife was a fucking slag and there was no way I was going home this weekend, I decided I'd come touring with him and just stay in my city apartment. We were in one of his higher end clubs when Jasper received a panicked call from Alice about little Brandon's health and had basically run out the door, leaving me on my own. I was planning to grab a drink for the road and bail when I saw her.

She was leaning over the bar a bit, pushing her ass out slightly. Her dress was covered in silver sequins, which caught some of the light from the dance floor, and illuminated her, making her appear almost angelic. Long brown hair tumbled down her back and her lean, shapely legs were in sky high heels with a bunch of straps. She was… perfection.

_Shotgun_.

I looked around to see a few other men ogling her, one even about to make his move and head over, but in 6 long strides I had beaten him there. Chump. I got Heidi's attention for her, she said she thought I was hot, we chatted and she came over to the booth with me. She was absolutely gorgeous, and had a sweetness about her that was essentially the opposite of the cold, brutal woman I was married to. I had some, faint sense that this was wrong, but my want for the girl, Bella, crushed it completely.

Weirdly, I didn't just want to fuck her. Sure, I'd met girls since I'd been married and wanted to do them, but I'd never met one I'd actually wanted to get to know. So I turned on the charm and ran with it. I almost let her go home on her own, considering it was the opposite direction to me, but I was really fucking glad I didn't. She was so cute and coy and had an air of innocence about her that was unbelievably attractive.

Bella couldn't have been older than 23 or 24, which made her a little young, but it didn't really bother me. She was cool and we'd had fun, so I'd see her again. Fun had been sorely missing from my life of late, obligation taking its place. I texted her that night, because girls love that thoughtful shit, but I decided to leave it a few days before contacting her again.

I showered and pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt, knowing that I had to meet Jasper soon to do his second tour of the weekend. We were hitting a couple of places in China Town and the surrounding areas. He had a few lower end places there, designed for the youth that occupied the area that we were going to. I didn't see the harm, and I'd drink for free all night, so I was down. I met him in the village a while later and said hello to Alice and Brandon, and then we headed down to China Town, grabbed some food, and started the tour. I had a lot of time for Jasper, he was quiet, but a great guy, and he treated my sister and nephew like royalty, so we got along well. That said, if he ever hurt her, I'd kick his ass back to Texas, or Alabama, or wherever the fuck he was from down there.

After the first three places, I was pretty sure I was traumatised. They were absolute shitholes and the people there were horrendous. I couldn't understand how they profited, but Jasper explained that they cost almost nothing to run, and they did a consistently strong business by selling cheap drinks in huge volumes. Luckily, we only had one more to go, and I was pretty buzzed, so I'd be fine. This club was what Jasper called his baby, one of the first he ever owned, and he adored it. He opened it with the idea that he would create the club he'd always wanted to go to, and 6 years later, the place was still making a killing. I'd been here before, and I had to admit, I had a soft spot for the place too.

It was grungy, but not unpleasantly so. Graffiti and posters on the walls, mismatched couches, a single pool table in a corner, stickers all over doorframes. It had a soul, and the crowd obviously loved it. They were an alternative group, but the music was infectious, a lot of indie and Britpop, rock stuff, even going back to Nirvana, Blur, David Bowie and the Ramones. It was unassuming, but a great place to be when there was a good crowd. Located in the depths of Chinatown, he'd named it the Laundry House.

Jasper was in back checking the stockroom, so I moved to the outside area to grab a quick smoke. Leaning against the wall, taking in the crowd, I noticed a head of shiny brunette hair across the courtyard. Sitting on an old couch and giggling drunkenly sat Bella, her arm wrapped around a blonde girl I assumed to be Lauren and another, effeminate-looking guy with a head of bleached blonde hair and who appeared to be sporting heavy eye makeup. She was in a tiny denim dress and what looked to be a man's flannel shirt, looking absolutely stunning. She looked completely at ease with her friends and the sight made me smile. She looked over and caught my eye, and I winked at her. Without looking away from me, she smacked her friend on the thigh, quickly whispered something to her and stood up to make her way over to me. Her hips swung in the most alluring way as she walked.

"Hey, Edward," she greeted as she kissed my cheek. She smelled like strawberries and girl with a hint of cigarettes.

"Hello, gorgeous," I returned her greeting, and her smile grew. I had learned last night that Bella loved flattery, and who was I to deny her that simple pleasure?

"What are you doing here, stalker?" she teased.

"Hey now, no need for accusations. My brother owns this place as well, and he needed someone to come with him, so here I am. I'm a modern day saint," I joked.

"No. You're brother is Jasper Whitlock?" I nodded.

"Ugh! That's amazing! One of my friends works here and said he's the coolest guy ever. He owns all these awesome bars and places that I go to, especially this one, it's my favourite. I read the interview he did for the Times about this place, I absolutely love his concept, and if you asked me to create my ideal club, it would probably be almost identical," she gushed. I was a bit surprised that he knew who Jasper was. I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"He's just some southern guy who's married to my little sister, Alice, to me," I responded, a little surprised at how much she seemed to admire the bastard.

"Wow, that's so weird," she said absently. She shook her head to clear it, and then looked back up at me. "I'm going to get a drink. Come with?" I nodded and put my hand on the small of her back as I followed her to the bar. When we got there, I left my hand in place, and she leaned into me a bit.

_Yeah fuckers, she's with me._

I wasn't sure where the sense of possession was coming from, but it seemed to be an ongoing thing with Bella, so I let it go.

"No fancy cocktails tonight," she laughed. "However will you impress me now?"

"I could probably pull some strings if you wanted," I replied. "I'm a pretty important guy," I bragged jokingly. She elbowed me gently in the chest, and I feigned horror and rubbed at it dramatically, acting as though she had hurt me.

"There is no need for brutality here, Miss Swan."

"Ooh, poor baby," she cooed sarcastically as she tilted her head to the side slightly. I tilted mine the opposite way. "How can I make it up to you?" She leaned in, her voice lowering as she got closer.

"I'm sure you can think of something," I murmured just as our lips touched. I used the hand on her back to pull her closer to me and her hands came to rest on my chest. I heard someone clearing their throat, and Bella pulled away, gently biting on my lower lip before she did, eliciting a tiny groan from me. She smiled and turned to the bar, making eye contact with an irritated looking young woman, who had her cheek pierced and was bald. I wondered absently if these kinds of people were nocturnal, because I could swear I'd never seen one out and about during the day.

"Is Jasper around? Tell him Edward said to get his ass out here for a drink," I instructed her. She rolled her eyes at me but walked off to find him. I looked down at Bella, who was fiddling with her hair and smoothing down her flannel shirt.

"Are you really going to introduce me to Jasper?" she asked. Who was this guy?

"Well, yeah, if you want to meet him." Her enthusiastic nodding was answer enough for me. I laughed and rolled my eyes at her.

"Seriously, Bella, he's no big deal, just some southern asshole who owns a few bars and restaurants," I said, trying to sooth her nerves at meeting him. This situation was truly ridiculous. Jasper, the underground Donald Trump. She nodded again as she ran her fingers through her hair. I took her hands and placed them down by her sides, laughing gently at her edginess. I ran my hand up and down her arm, and she seemed to relax a bit.

A few moments later, Jasper emerged from the bar, all shaggy blonde hair and black jeans. He fit in perfectly here. He was mouthing along to the words of the song playing as he walked out to the main bar. Bizarrely, there was a bit of cheering, and he waved to a group of people who were saluting him with hands and raised drinks.

"Jasper, what the fuck is this? You're famous down here," I said, letting my surprise filter through my voice.

"Not really son, everyone likes someone who'll give them a cool place to get drunk. Now, more importantly, who is this?" he asked as his eyes ran over Bella, who looked a little starstruck.

"This is my friend, Bella. I ran into her outside and we decided to come in and try to scam some free liquor out of you," I joked. Bella shot me a glare for that comment.

"Well, hello there, Bella," Jasper drawled in his southern accent as he reached out to shake her hand.

"He doesn't really talk like that," I told her and he flipped me off.

"Hi, Jasper," she greeted shyly. Jasper pulled up three shot glasses and took a bottle of tequila from the shelf.

"So, do you come to my little establishment often, Bella?" he asked conversationally as he filled the glasses with practiced ease.

"This is kind of embarrassing, but I come here all the time. I absolutely love it here," she told him, and I swear I saw her blushing slightly. Jasper put down the bottle and reached under the bar, pulling out a polaroid camera.

"Smile for me," he instructed.

"Why?" she asked, but he just pointed the camera at her until she conceded. She hunched her shoulders slightly and did this pouty little smile, obviously something she had worked out suited her in photos, though I couldn't imagine anything that wouldn't. The camera printed the picture and Jasper fanned it until she started to show up.

"What are you doing with that?" she asked.

"Well, you're up on my wall now, which means you drink free here from now on," he told her casually as he pinned her picture to a little notice board behind the cash register.

"Jasper! No! I don't need you to do that!" She started protesting again, as she did the night before.

"Bella, think of it as an investment. Girls who look like you do attract men to my bar, and those men spend a lot more on alcohol then what I'd give to you." She blushed at that and I scowled a little. "And anyway, any friend of Edward's is a friend of mine, and we Cullens look after out friends, right Edward?" She looked up at me, and I nodded smugly. She grimaced but stopped protesting.

"Now," he started as he set three shots and three beer bottles down on the bar, "do you need salt and lemon?" he asked her.

"Nope," she answered, and I was a little awed. For all the girly drinks she'd had the previous night, I had not pictured her as a tequila and beer girl. We all lifted our shots, clinked them together and threw them back. I had to stop myself from grimacing as the liquid burned its way down my throat. Bella shuddered every so slightly before picking up a beer and taking a large gulp.

"Look at you two," Jasper said condescendingly, "weak to the core." Before I could respond Bella cut in.

"Maybe if you stocked good quality tequila, we'd fare a little better," she shot at him with a smug smile and he looked slightly taken aback. I know I was. Her attitude towards him had completely shifted, and it was hilarious.

Jasper stayed for a short while, he and Bella talking mostly about music they listened to. They seemed to be very similar, and if Jasper wasn't so besotted with my sister, he probably would have been keen competition. He headed home, citing his fear of an angry wife, but I knew that he was desperate to get home to her. As much as he enjoyed his work, it was Alice and their son that meant the most to him in the world.

Bella and I hung out some more, chatting and drinking, and before long, it was quite late. Time seemed to fly when I was with this girl. She quickly looked at her phone, only to sigh.

"What's wrong, beautiful?"

"Lauren's bailed again, this time to Jessica's house to smoke up, so I'm walking home solo. I didn't even think to bring my ipod. Lame."

"You're walking home?"

"Yeah, I'm not far from here."

"I'll walk you then, get a cab from your place."

"Two nights in a row, Edward? You are far too good to be true."

"Accept it baby, I'm perfect," I teased and she went to elbow me again. I blocked it with my palm.

"We talked about your assaults," I warned.

"Maybe if you stopped being such a douche, they wouldn't occur as often," she shot back. My little spitfire. God, it was hot.

"Violence _and_ profanity. Well I never," I pretended to be outraged.

"That's me, always the bad influence." She had no idea. I had a wife at home, and she was luring me from my sense of appropriateness like a siren. I quickly dismissed that thought and returned my focus to the girl sitting on the couch beside me. "Next up, I'll steal your virtue," she purred as she leaned towards me.

"Is that a promise?" I leaned back as she crawled into my lap, straddling me in the corner of the darkened room.

"That depends."

"On what, exactly?" I asked, as I leaned forward to press my lips to her throat.

"Well," she sighed, leaning into my touch, "that is for me to know," she exhaled heavily as my hands came to rest on the back of her thighs, just grazing her ass, "and you to find out… but only if you're really lucky." She slid her fingers into my hair and pulled my face back from her neck, before firmly planting her lips on mine. My grip tightened on her ass as I pulled her closer to me, relishing the feel of her little body pressed against mine. She bit my lip again, the sensation making me crazy and I growled into her mouth. She moaned slightly at that, and I took the opportunity to slide my tongue into her mouth. Our kissing soon became feverish and she started moving her hips involuntarily against me.

She was so responsive, so vibrant and just… _alive_. It was entrancing. Eventually, and much to my disappointment, she pulled away, panting slightly. Her face was slightly flushed and she was smiling, and she looked absolutely stunning.

"I think it's time we left, before I get banned from my favourite place in the world for lewd behaviour or something," she giggled, and the thought of Bella engaging in lewd behaviour overwhelmed me for a second. She climbed off me and I reluctantly stood up, letting her lead us through the exit of the club.

We strolled down the street back to her place together at a leisurely pace. I for one was certainly not eager to have the night end. We arrived at her building and she looked up at me, the innocence I found so very appealing displayed across her lovely features. My shy little Bella opened her mouth, and the words that came out damn near floored me.

"So I was thinking, do you want to stay?


	3. Chapter 3

Iggy Pop – Never Met A Girl Like You Before  
(if you don't like this song, I don't like you. It's a _classic._)

**Bella POV**

Damn it.

I sounded like the world's biggest skank bag now.

Well, maybe not _biggest_, but still, it wasn't good.

"Shit, that came out wrong. I didn't mean it like _that_." I kind of did. "What I meant was, it's late, you're tired, we're right here, we could hang out for a bit and then you could… sleep here, if you wanted. I have toothbrushes and stuff. There's Lauren's room and a couch if you don't want to share with me, although you should probably run her bed over with a UV light before you got in, and the couch kind of sucks. Alright, forget I said anything." Great, I had just made a royal ass of myself in front of the hottest man I would probably ever meet.

"Do you want me to come up, Bella?" he questioned.

"Well… yes. I've been all on my lonesome for two nights in a row," I pouted dramatically and looking up at him through my lashes, playing it up in the vain hope he'd find it cute and not desperate.

"Are you sure?" he asked. The intensity of his stare was unnerving, as though he was looking through my eyes and into my soul, as clichéd as that sounded. I felt somewhat entranced.

"Yes," I almost whispered. I was feeling very vulnerable in that moment, his concern for my wants breaking through my dutch courage. "But," I clarified, "this isn't a sexy sleepover, so don't go laying moves or anything." I narrowed my eyes at him playfully. He smiled at me and I was physically incapable of scowling at him when he looked like that.

"Of course not. Is that what you think of me?" he asked, feigning upset, and I was momentarily worried that I'd offended him until he laughed. "Seriously though, nothing will happen tonight… unless you initiate it, of course," he said in a lowered voice and then winked, and I wanted to groan. That didn't help me at all. In truth, it wasn't his self-control and decency I was worried about, it was my own. I'd never slept in a bed with anyone I wanted to have sex with, and I wasn't sure quite how I'd get through this.

I wasn't exactly a sexual deviant; Lauren definitely had that angle covered in our friendship. I had only been with two guys, one of who was my high school boyfriend. The consuming, pulsing want that I experienced for this man was completely new to me. There was something about him, which radiated from him, a confidence, and an aura of… well, pure sex. It was impossible to deny, and almost as hard to resist. I had a feeling that had just sealed my own fate by inviting him in, but I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

I nodded towards my building, in an attempt to look casual, and led the way.

* * *

I woke up the next morning, feeling infinitely worse for wear. My eyes could barely hold themselves open, my head ached and my mouth felt like I'd been chewing on cotton balls and cigarette butts. I sat up, closing my eyes against the head spin. All of a sudden, realisation came crashing down on me. I looked to my right and saw perfection, sleeping peacefully beside me.

I leapt out of bed, making a quick dash for my bathroom before he could see me in my abhorrent state. I hopped in the shower, cleaned my teeth and sprayed some dry shampoo in my hair, which helped deal with the smell of tobacco that permeated it. I fluffed it out and emerged. I put some coffee on and grabbed a handful of cereal from a box in the cupboard as I waited for it to finish. Someone needed to invent coffee that was simply materialised the moment you desired it. I replayed the previous nights moments in my mind as I waited.

_Edward and I were sitting cross-legged on my bed, and the surrounding floor was littered with empty beer bottles. We had both had way too much to drink, but neither of us had suggested stopping. The conversation slowed and my head lulled to the beat of the music I'd put on. As I found myself more and more lost in the beat, my head moved more dramatically, my hair starting to swish around my head with my movements. _

_I heard a velvety chuckle and abruptly stopped my movements, looking up at its source. Edward was laughing at me. I scowled._

"_What?" I asked._

"_You're cute when you dance like that. Your hair ends up all over the place."_

"_Well, duhhhhhh, Edward," I goaded him drunkenly and he looked at me seriously._

"_I don't appreciate your attitude, Miss Bella." _

_I flipped him off, swaying slightly from the quick movement. _

_He looked down at his half empty beer, picked it up and purposefully placed it on my bedside table. Without looking up before he moved, he lunged at me, catching me completely off guard. I found myself under him, his hand pinning both of mine down at the wrists. His close proximity was completely intoxicating. _

"_Bella, that is no way to treat a guest," he playfully chided in a quiet tone._

"_And this is the way to treat someone who invites you into their home?" I breathed back in response, trying hard to look facetious rather than consumed with lust._

"_From the looks of things, that someone likes it." His voice riddled with sex, and my eyelids fluttered with sheer want. Fail._

"_That's awfully presumptuous," I replied as I lifted my head to bring my lips closer to his._

_He brushed his lips against my own, light as a feather. "Presumptuous, but accurate, it seems," he teased as he moved his face just out of my reach. I tried to lift my arms, only to find them still pinned. _

"_A little eager are we, princess?" he taunted lightly. I dropped my head back to the bed limply and looked away from him, pouting childishly._

"_You're a terrible guest," I informed him. He smirked sinfully then kissed me, his lips moving against my own in a way that made my brain shut down completely._

"_How about now?" he murmured as his nose ran up my jaw bone._

"_Slightly better," I wheedled, incapable of clear thought. His lips reattached to mine, and I sighed. Mission accomplished. _

I heard the front door open and turned to greet Lauren, not expecting her home til at least that evening. Instead, a still-drunk Liam tripped through the doorway. Liam was our third roommate, and made Elton John look butch. He referred to himself, Lauren and I as the 'white Kardashian sisters, only less gross'. Lauren was Kim because she once filmed herself and a boyfriend having sex, I was Kourtney because I was the shortest (even though I wasn't pregnant), and he was Khloe because he looked like a guy and liked black men. We had repeatedly tried to dispute this, but he wouldn't let it go, and eventually, we had come to grudgingly accept it.

"Hey girl, heyyyyy," he slurred, leaning against the open door as he dropped his jacket on the floor beside the coat rack. "Where my bitches at?"

"Fuck Liam, shut up. It's 10am!" I berated and he scowled at me.

"Listen here, Bella, I will not be silenced! You hear me?"

"Everyone in the fucking building can hear you Liam," I hissed at him. "Now get your ass into your room and pass out before I bludgeon you until you do," I threatened. He giggled as he stumbled to get some water. He poured himself a huge glass and retreated to the couch, pulling his leather shoes off and kicking his feet up on the table. He brushed his fringe out of his face and looked at me accusingly.

"Now, riddle me this, miss thang. Where did you get to last night? You couldn't be found after about 2, and that effort is just not satisfactory," he scolded then skulled down half of his water.

"I came home," I answered simply.

"That answer is not going to –" I heard my bedroom door open, and Liam choked on the mouthful of water he was swallowing as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the door. I quickly turned to look. Edward looked magnificent. He had pulled his jeans on, but the top button was undone, and he was running a hand through his hair. I looked back over to Liam, who was utterly transfixed and then at Edward, who looked slightly uneasy.

"Hey," I said cheerfully, trying to alleviate the tension hanging in the room. "This is Liam, my roommate." He looked over at Liam and waved his hand once in greeting.

"Hey Liam, I'm Edward."

"If you don't have sex with men, I'm going to hang myself."

My mouth fell open in complete horror at my roommate's first words to the guy I was interested in, although I shouldn't have been shocked.

"Sorry, no," Edward replied, mildly amused. Liam shifted his gaze to me.

"Bella, if he switches, you send him straight to me, or your ass is out of the street," he threatened. Liam's parents were absolutely loaded, and he owned our apartment, letting us stay for negligible rent because he wanted two pretty girls to live and party with. We had been more than happy to fill that role. We just had to put up with his unusual mannerisms. With those charming words, he stormed off to his room.

I looked over at Edward, hoping he wasn't too traumatised with what had just transpired.

"I am so, so sorry about that," I said quietly. He smirked at my embarrassment.

"It's fine. Believe it or not, he's not the first gay man to say something like that to me."

"Oh, I have no doubt." He laughed lightly. "Coffee?"

"Coffee would be great, but would you mind if I showered here? The smell of beer and smoke is making me a bit sick," he asked. I understood his feelings completely.

"Oh, definitely, bathroom's just there, there are towels in there, and toothbrushes in the drawer." He smiled gratefully and headed off. I smiled dreamily as he left the room. God he was amazing. I then moved into my bedroom to dress for the day.

I had just pulled on some denim shorts and was looking for a top when Liam burst back into my room.

"Who the _fuck _was that?" he asked, his eyes ablaze.

"That was Edward," I mumbled, hoping he would leave it at that, but knowing he wouldn't.

"No, Bella, that was sex incarnate. And he stayed in your room last night. So I'll push my jealousy aside and I'll ask again, what the fuck?"

"I don't know," I replied, letting my frustration seep into my tone. "I met him on Friday night, and then I saw him at the Laundry House last night, and he lives on the Upper East Side, so I invited him to stay here instead because we were both trashed and exhausted and I was just trying to be friendly."

"Bella, you can't be _friendly_ with men like that. I'm pretty sure that's a crime. You have to be fucky, not friendly. If for no other reason than to do it for those who he wouldn't let do it, such as myself." There was a whinging tone behind his words that made me roll my eyes.

"Did you at least _see _it?" he asked desperately.

"No Liam, I did not. Now can you go away before you make a fool of yourself in front of him and neither of us get the chance to see it? Please?" He huffed.

"Fine, but when you do, I want details." He pointed at me accusingly then left the room. I located a pretty floral blouse, threw on a gold pendant, some bangles and found a couple of cute rings. I sat down on the bed to pull on a pair of tan boots that would complete my outfit.

Edward came into my room a few minutes later, lightly knocking on the doorframe as he entered. He sat down next to me on the bed.

"I thought you showered," I teased. "You still smell like smoke."

"Yeah," he lamented, "it's the t-shirt unfortunately." I thought on that for a second before getting up.

"Well, I may be able to help." I darted into my closet and pulled out a man's button up shirt and some cologne, holding them out in offering. He looked confused. I tossed the cologne bottle onto the bed and shook the shirt in my hand at him, but he still seemed hesitant.

"It didn't belong to your ex or something, did it?"

"God, no. I have it because sometimes a Shania Twain moment arises, and it's good to be prepared." I couldn't believe I'd told him that.

"A what moment?" It was too late to deny it now, best to act like it was no big deal.

"Shania Twain, Man I Feel Like A Woman."

"Sorry, what?"

"How can you not know that song? _I wanna go crazy, forget I'm a lady, man's shirts, shorts skirts_?_ Oh-oo-oh oh_? Seriously?" He looked completely lost. "Basically, she dances around in a man's shirt and thigh high boots in the video." I couldn't believe I was explaining this to him.

"You actually do that?" He sounded shocked. How embarrassing. I back-pedalled.

"On occasion, but not with the boots. I remember seeing the video when I was young and wanting to do it when I was older… so I did."

"So… it's Risky Business, but with you instead of Tom Cruise?" he clarified.

"Basically, yes." That hadn't occurred to me.

"Can I be present next time you do that?" he asked seriously. I was not anticipating that response. I chucked the shirt at him and he reached out automatically to catch it. I sat down on the bed to finish putting on my boots. He pulled off his old shirt and buttoned my one up. I tried not to watch… and failed. He smirked at me when he caught my expression, which I assume looked completely spaced out. Either that, or like a rabid, starving dog.

"You right there, Bella?" he asked playfully. I shook my head slightly to clear it.

"Oh… uh, yeah, just staring into space."

"Space, huh?"

"Yes, Edward, _Space_," I said indignantly. "More specifically, the space between your neck and your pants." He laughed, and the sound made me smile.

"Really?" He asked as he slowly walked towards me. "I would never have guessed. You were so suave." He crawled onto the bed over me, his movements pinning me down. "I think" he mused as he loosened one of the two bows holding my blouse together at the front, "I'm going to have to," he released the other, "objectify you back," he concluded as he opened my top. He sat back on his heels, which were straddled over my legs, and took in my now barely clothed upper half.

After a short while of staring at me, he pressed his mouth to mine in a searing kiss then got up off the bed. I sat up, a little disgruntled at the lack of touching, and did my blouse back up. I tossed on a little cardigan and stuffed two twenties into my bra. I grabbed my phone and keys and then stepped into the living area.

"Kicking me out already, princess?" he asked. I resisted the urge to squeal girlishly at the pet name.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. So, we're getting out of the apartment. You can go home if you want, or come get food, up to you." I was fairly confident I'd pulled off nonchalant. He tucked the phone he'd been playing with into his pocket and smiled.

"Food sounds good to me," he responded casually and I tried to keep the smile off my face. Just as we were about to reach the door, I ran back into my bedroom and grabbed my favourite sunglasses, as well as a pair of black knock off wayfarers. When I met him at the front door, which he was holding open for me, _swoon_, he looked at me questioningly.

"After last night," I said ominously, "we'll probably need these," I told him as I presented the wayfarers to him. He smiled and took them from me, nodding his head in thanks.

"Clever _and _beautiful," he mused as we walked down the stairs, "lucky me." There was no keeping the smile off my face at that.


	4. Chapter 4

The Kills – What New York Used To Be

**Edward POV**

God, she was gorgeous. We went and got a late breakfast from this shitty little diner she knew near her place, and I was mesmerised by the way her tiny hands, tipped with black fingernails picked apart her toast into bite size pieces. She'd suck on the tips of her fingers afterwards, and I could have stared at her doing that for days. The way her pretty pink lips parted around the pad of her finger was a sight to behold, mainly because it conjured the image of her lips wrapping around something else entirely. She ate a lot with her hands, and while most of the people I associated with would have been mortified with her behaviour, it was something I found absolutely endearing.

We fell into easy conversation, which I centred mostly around her, because at this point there wasn't a whole lot I could tell her about myself. I was 31, which I suspected was considerably older than her, and I was married, which probably wouldn't come across well either.

We talked about some things, but I hadn't seen a fair few of her favourite films, and I didn't know a lot about her music scene, which she described as 'indie'. She told me in an authoritative tone that I had fairly good taste in music, but that it needed an update, which I begrudgingly agreed to. She mentioned her affinity for Nirvana, so I told her that I'd seen them, and she looked like she wanted to smack me in the mouth. When I told her that they weren't really my thing, she wrapped her hands around the table's edge, as if she was trying to stop herself from climbing over it to murder me.

She mentioned that a band that she loved and thought that I would like, The Mess Hall, was playing that Thursday night. The hopeful look that she was trying to keep off her face made me think that she was trying to get me to invite myself along. She really wasn't anywhere near as good at hiding her feelings as she thought she was. When I asked her if she had a spare ticket, her gorgeous face lit up for a second before she calmed it. She told me she would let me know in a day or two if she could get one, and continued smiling for the rest of the meal. Every time I saw her smiling at me, I smiled back. I couldn't help it. She was a breath of fresh air in my otherwise suffocating life.

Eventually though, our time together came to an end, for that Sunday, at least. I walked her back to her building, and she darted in to give me a couple of CDs she wanted me to listen to as part of me re-education. After several kisses goodbye, she walked back into her building and I jumped in a cab. I was a few blocks from home when I realised I still had her sunglasses and shirt.

**B – I have your man-woman or whatever it was shirt and sunglasses. – E**

**E – Well yeah, I wasn't going to make you go home naked. Dw, I'm holding your t-shirt as collateral. – B**

I laughed at her response, then sighed. I had a lot of thinking to do where Bella was concerned. I really liked her. She was cool, beautiful beyond description, and utterly refreshing. I wanted her around, definitely. What I was struggling with was if I wanted to be _that_ guy. The one who ruins his marriage and what appears to be the perfect life for some pretty young thing. If it went wrong, if Rosalie was publicly humiliated, or worse, got a hold of Bella, there was no telling what she would do. Although I knew Rose was fucking the gardener, I couldn't prove it. That meant that if people found out about my indiscretions first, I would be skinned alive. Rose was a spiteful woman when she wanted to be, and would not take well at all to anything that made her look foolish, and my mother would have my head if I disrespected both a friend of the family and the sanctity of my marriage.

What Esme didn't know was that my marriage was basically a sham. I spent most of the week in my city apartment because it was so close to my office, only really returning when Rose insisted on it for some event or function or because she felt like being the perfect wife for an evening. I spent weekends at the house, but I spent a lot of it working and she spent it socialising, bringing me along when it was necessary.

Bella though, was the complete antithesis. Young, unassuming, and entirely unburdened by the societal obligations that Rose seemed to live by, she was the breath of fresh air that I had been gasping for. She wore short shorts, heaps of jewellery, and kept her money in her bra instead of an $800 wallet. She could spend one night drinking cocktails in a fancy club then the next getting smashed on tequila and beer in an entirely different setting, but she fitted in perfectly in both situations. It had been a long time since I'd met anyone that laid back, and I craved it.

She was snarky and vivacious and giggled at things, and she was absolutely stunning. Her soft hair, her big brown doe eyes, her collar bones, her long creamy legs, every single thing about her was perfect. The more I thought about her, the more I struggled between what I had been raised to believe as good and appropriate behaviour, and this new side of myself, that was desperate to rebel and indulge my need for selfish freedom.

I arrived back at my apartment, put on one of the CDs Bella had given me and climbed into the shower, because regardless of having showered at her place, I had still been wearing the same clothes for coming up on… ugh, I didn't want to put a number on it. The Mess Hall were surprisingly good, and I found myself hoping she could get me a ticket not only to see her, but also to see the band. I was towelling off my hair when I heard the CD cut out and wondered what had happened.

I emerged from the bathroom to see my wife sitting on my bed, trying to look charming as she played with her nails. She was wearing a beige skirt with a ruffly blouse, looking like the stepford wife she so desired to be, her blonde hair sitting perfectly around her head. I was instantly suspicious as to her motives. She hated the city, and she never came here unless she absolutely had to.

"Rose," I greeted warily. She looked at over at me and beamed.

"Hello, Edward," she replied cheerfully. She stood up and crossed the room. She gently placed her hands on my bare chest and leaned up on her toes to kiss me. I was a little surprised, normally I would be lucky to get a 'hi' as she walked past me. I kissed her back because, well, she was my wife. She looked up at me, and her blue eyes attempted to look pleading, a look that didn't suit her. Her hands slid up to my shoulders and held me there.

"Edward," she purred, "I'm so sorry I was such a pain on Friday. I just… I missed you so much last week and I got angry." It clicked together easily then. She wasn't sorry, she was about to ask for something. "I'd cooked for us and then you told me you were going out with Jasper and it made me so… disappointed and I lashed out." There was the usual serve of guilt that usually preceded a request.

"I'm sorry Rose," I told her, not wanting to cause more trouble by arguing with her. I had had too good a weekend to allow her to ruin it. "I had no idea." No idea she had ever prepared a meal on her own in that house.

"It's fine, really," she soothed as she pulled herself to me for a hug. I wrapped my arms around her waist somewhat reluctantly. Clearly the marriage charade was required for some reason, although I wasn't sure as yet what it was.

"So what brings you here, Rose?" I asked her, trying hard not to let my annoyance show through.

"Aside from me wanting to make amends with my husband," she said slightly cattily, "Michael and Jessica Newton wanted to meet us for dinner. If you're willing to join us of course." As if I had any choice in the matter. I wanted to roll my eyes, or vomit. I hated the Newtons, Jessica was a whore and Mike was a total douche bag. Rosalie though, thought that Jessica was a worthwhile friend because her mother was on the board of some important charity, and so I was forced to spend time with the hellish pair.

I suppressed a sigh then pulled back from my wife, rubbing the length of her arms gently as I smiled at her.

"Of course I'll be there, Rose." She beamed at me, and in that moment, I caught a little glimpse of the woman I'd fallen in love with. She kissed me quickly again, victorious. She let me go and picked up her phone, scrolling through presumably to accept their invitation.

"By the way, what was that awful music you were listening to?" she asked patronisingly without looking up. There was the woman I'd come to know.

"Oh, it was something Jasper gave me," I lied. I couldn't exactly tell her that the gorgeous girl I'd spent the weekend making out with all over the lower half of New York had loaned me a few cds, including the one that I would be seeing live with her in five short days.

_Five more days._

Dinner was a mediocre affair to say the least. Jessica used any excuse possible to make contact with me while Rose shot her death stares, and Mike made exaggerated comments about the joys of raising a child because it was the only thing he had that I didn't. Meanwhile their nanny sat two tables away, raising their child for them. Rose and I held hands on top of the table as she talked about plans for children that we would never have while Mike made gratuitous statements about how rewarding it was to have kids. I wanted to ask what his daughter's name was, just to see if he could tell me, but I knew that Rose would give me hell later, so I left it.

I nodded along with their bullshit and drank expensive wine, wishing I was back at the Laundry House with Jasper and Bella, drinking crappy beer and actually enjoying myself. Jessica laughed obnoxiously at everything I said, and so her husband strived for Rose's attention, which she never gave, because if my wife was one thing, it was a team player. She wouldn't have let our team down, and that's essentially what this was, a competition, their marriage versus ours. We had perfected the charade, and rarely lost.

Rose was gleeful in the town car back to the apartment, making me think that she was satisfied with my performance. Thank God. I was exhausted from the weekend, and not in the mood to deal with her passive aggression. I quickly changed into pyjamas and flopped down into bed. I was almost asleep when I felt Rose climb in beside me. I felt the satin of her expensive pyjamas against my skin and smelled her perfume when she snuggled into the bed, and I couldn't help but want for Bella's cotton tank top and strawberry scented hair.

I awoke the next morning, the weekend still affecting me. I felt like shit. I dragged my sorry ass into the shower, hoping that it would help reenergize me before work. As had been the trend in the last couple of days, my thoughts drifted to Bella. I wondered when I would next see her again. I should probably have waited til our Thursday plans, but Thursday seemed like an eternity away, and if she couldn't get tickets, it would be even longer. I wanted to see her, see her beautiful face and her gorgeous hair and her legs… I wanted to see all of her. At the mere thought of all of her, my body began to react, and moments later I found myself rock hard.

It wasn't really surprising, after all the PG-13 time spent with Bella over the weekend. I recalled having her underneath me, her hands pinned above her head, completely open to me and straining to connect her mouth to mine. My hand wrapped around my erection and I slowly started stroking myself to the thought, only I was envisioning Bella in that same position, but naked and writhing against my cock as I pushed into her. The little sighs and moans that she emitted while we kissed spurred me on, and as I ran my thumb over the head and stroked back down, I could almost hear the sounds she would make when she came on my hands, my mouth, my dick.

I felt the air of the shower get slightly colder and turned to see my wife naked and smirking at me, holding the shower door open. I knew what she wanted. Rose and I didn't sleep together very frequently, only really enough for her to be satisfied that I hadn't caught on to her getting it somewhere else. When we had first started dating, she was an absolute beast, and it would have been extremely obvious that something was wrong if we stopped fucking altogether. She had a great body, and although the sex lacked the fire that it used to have, I was a man, and I enjoyed it either way. Make no mistake, she got her fair share out of our exchanges as well.

"Room for one more?" she asked in her most seductive tone. She seemed more eager than we usually were with each other, maybe Emmett had taken the weekend off.

"That depends," I replied, matching her tone. What could I say, I was horny and she was right there and naked.

"I'll make it worth your while," she offered huskily as she stepped in and wrapped her hand around my length, taking over.

"I'm sure you will," I answered as I pressed her up against the tiled wall. I let my physical responses take over, and tried to block out the nagging feeling that I was doing the wrong thing. She was my wife, for fucks sakes. She hissed and wrapped her legs around my hips, and I reached down, rubbing her before I slid two fingers inside her.

"Eager are we this morning, Rose?" I asked mockingly as she writhed against my hand. She moaned, the sound expressing her frustration with my teasing, and I pulled my fingers from her, only to have her grab them and put them in her mouth. Despite the perfect exterior, Rose loved to fuck, and fuck hard. She held my eyes as she did it, and I couldn't look away, because as a guy, shit like that was impossible to ignore. She took my fingers out of her mouth and wrapped her hand around my neck, pulling me to her and locking me in a hard kiss.

She reached down and grabbed my throbbing cock, aligning it with her entrance. I wasted no time pushing into her hard, and she cried out, her head tilting backwards. I took the opportunity to attach my mouth to her neck, kissing and nipping on my way.

"Don't… leave a mark," she hissed, and I rolled my eyes. Of course not. Instead, I rested my head on her shoulder, focusing on the feeling of my cock pounding in and out of her hard and rough. She loved that shit, and her fingernails were digging into my shoulders. She was going to leave marks. I almost said something, but knew what would happen if I did, and I was in no mood to get blue balled.

"You love it, don't you Rose?" I knew she enjoyed the dirty talking, most women did, although they were afraid to admit it. "You love to get fucked," I punctuated the last word with a particularly strong thrust. I was being quite rough with her, and she was soaking it up. I wasn't sure why, but for some reason we were both way more into things than we normally were, but I was in no state to question it.

"Yes! Fuck yes!" she yelled. She was no stranger to profanity herself. Although she had locked herself down to this prim, proper lifestyle, when we were having sex, all of her old, wild ways came out to play. It sounded awful, but I liked her most when she was getting off, so unrestrained and free.

"My dainty little wife, who loves to get fucked hard against a wall," I spoke menacingly, a clear element of condescension in my voice. Her fingernails dug in deeper, and I could tell she was getting close, as was I.

"Are you going to come Rose, as I fuck you like a little whore?" I asked her, and I felt her body start to shake against mine as she nodded frantically.

"Yes," she moaned, "so good, so close." I increased my speed and angled my thrusts to hit the spot I knew made her fall apart every time.

"Come on, show me how much you like it, come for me Rosalie," I whispered directly into her ear before biting down on it roughly. As her full name fell from my lips, she cried out, her whole body tensing up as she screamed her way through her release. I followed moments later, unable to deny my physical response to the woman. I held her there, up against the wall, as we both rode out our releases and her legs loosened so that I was almost entirely supporting her weight. I looked at her and she beamed at me, kissing me firmly.

"Wow, that was… Phew," she laughed. I simply nodded in agreement, kissing her once more before letting her down. We finished our shower while she discussed her upcoming trip to some resort in Mexico with the girls in a few weeks and how she thought, because I would be in the city working for most of it, that she would give the staff the week off. I almost laughed aloud at her lies. I would be willing to bet a lot of money that 'the girls' meant Emmett, and I was not a gambling man.

We climbed out of the shower and Rose commandeered the mirror for a short while. I took that time to pull on some boxers and find my clothes for work. It was the usual, a suit, shirt and tie, but I needed something to do, and contacting Bella mere minutes after having sex with my wife seemed tacky. Rose finished doing her various girl things and I went in after her. I was almost finished shaving when she came in to say her good bye. She wrapped her arms around me from behind, lightly tracing her fingernails across my chest before hugging me gently and pressing a kiss to my shoulder blade. She was in a phenomenal mood this morning. I turned around and she carefully kissed my lips, making sure to avoid getting any shaving cream on her face.

"This was fun," she said rather happily.

"It was," I agreed. The morning had been, definitely.

"Will I see you this week?" she asked.

"I might try to get Thursday off and come home Wednesday night, but I can't make any promises," I told her. We always made plans like this, but they never happened.

"Great, let me know if you can and I'll organise a nice dinner or something." She smiled at me, blew a kiss and walked out of the bathroom. Moments later, I heard the front door click, and I knew she was gone.

I was a little shell-shocked. We hadn't had a morning like that in years. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Why now? Why did she have to remind me why I had married her the day after I go for someone else? There was something strange going on, something I couldn't quite place, but I pushed it to the back of my head and went to get dressed.

Despite all the complicatedness of this life, there was one person who I could turn to who would give me complete and utter clarity.

Bella.

And with that, I was decided. I was going to pursue the girl, consequences be damned.

* * *

I arrived at work, feeling completely wrecked. I moved mechanically through my day, fiercely glad I didn't have any important appointments. Leah, my assistant, could tell I was running on empty, and left me be for the most part. The girl truly was a lifesaver sometimes. She even went so far as to bring me my lunch, something I felt terrible for, until I saw that she had also provided me with a gigantic coffee and a big bottle of freezing cold water.

Tanya, dressed in a blouse and skin tight pencil skirt, sauntered into my office, sat at the chair on the other side of my desk and kicked her legs up onto the table, crossing her ankles and showing me her expensive stilettos. I lifted my head from the table.

"Well, well, looking as delightful as ever today, aren't we?" she said mockingly.

"Fuck off, Tanya," I scowled at her. She laughed.

"What's up your ass?" she asked.

"Nothing, until you arrived," I said scathingly. She was used to my bullshit. She reached over and grabbed half of my sandwich.

"So," she asked with a mouth half full of food before she swallowed. "Irina is going absolutely mental cooped up at home with Katie, so we were thinking maybe you'd want to come out on the town with your favourite rug munchers in the world one night this week?" I laughed at her derogatory language.

Tanya was a gold star lesbian. She has never been with a man, nor intended to. Her and her partner, Irina, had been together well before I met them, and Irina had recently given birth to their first daughter, little Kate. They were a really cool couple, and I enjoyed hanging out with them. Tanya and I had become great friends over our years at the firm, and she was one of the only people who I had told about the ridiculous situation with Rosalie.

"Sure thing, I love you two crazy lesbians. Any night but Thursday."

"What's on Thursday? Date with the missus?" She laughed at her own comment.

"No… I just have something on." She tilted her head and looked at me curiously.

"Wait… my spidey sense is tingling… what happened last weekend? You've come to work looking like shit, which you never do, which means you had a big weekend, which you never do, which means there is some reason behind it. Methinks said reason is a person, most likely of the female persuasion," she mused.

"Shut it, Ellen DeGeneres. Stop doing your lesbian mind-tricks on me," I shot back, and she laughed. I smiled at her. "Seriously though," I sighed, "I'm not ready to give this one away just yet… give me time, you know you always get it out of me one way or another."

"You better," she threatened playfully. "By the way, if you'd said Rosie O'Donnell again, I would have smacked your pretty little face into next week." I laughed weakly and she left the room. I pushed through the afternoon, feeling considerably better now I was running on caffeine. At about 3pm, Leah put through a call from Jasper.

"Hey Jasper," I greeted him. "What's happening?"

"Hello," I heard his smooth southern voice through the line. "I need you to come with me to this art gallery in mid town, I'm trying to find a piece for Alice."

"Alright, when?"

"Tonight? They're holding the gallery open for me so I can come have a look at it."

"How'd you pull that off?"

"I'm Jasper fucking Whitlock, I can do whatever I want," he drawled arrogantly, and I laughed.

"Whatever man, where do you want me to meet you?"

"I won't be far from your office, I'm doing a stock check at one of my places up town, so I'll meet you there in an hour?" God, Jasper had a great job. He wandered around the city all day, showed up at the occasional bar and people worshipped him for it. I quickly flicked through my daily diary to make sure my schedule was clear.

"Yeah, sure, see you then," I confirmed then hung up.

Jasper arrived almost exactly an hour later, sauntering into my office wearing a fucking fedora and having a quiet exchange with Leah that left her blushing. The guy had the southern charm thing down to a science, and it never failed. Even though he was blissfully married, women found themselves caught up in his inadvertent charm wherever he went. I grabbed my suit jacket, stuffed my tie in my pocket and emerged from my office, giving him a quick handshake before we headed out. We jumped in a cab and made our way to midtown.

"So," Jasper started off, and I already knew what he'd say. "That Bella seemed like a lovely little thing… who was she?"

"I told you on Saturday, I met her on Friday and ran into her. Yeah, she's a cool girl." I tried to keep it as vague as possible, I didn't want to fuck myself over before I could even get anywhere with her.

"Alright man, but just… think before you do, yeah?"

"Yeah." This was one of the things I liked about Jasper. Unlike his wife, he could tell when a subject was closed, and never pushed things. Alice on the other hand, would gladly pull your fingernails out with pliers if she wanted information badly enough. Well, she probably wouldn't go that far, but still, she was ruthless.

We arrived at the gallery, which was quite clearly closed. Jasper pulled his phone from his pants and made a quick phone call, and moments later a middle aged bald man opened the glass doors to the tasteful little space.

"Hello Jasper, and friend of Jasper," he opened as he looked me up and down, "my name is Eleazar. Please, come in, Isabella will gladly show you around." We stepped inside and I saw a woman facing away from us. I stood, completely shocked, as did Jasper. Her small but shapely frame was clad in a black belted skirt and top, and her long legs were covered in lacy patterned stockings. Long brown hair cascaded down her back, and even without seeing her face, you knew that she was gorgeous.

Eleazar cleared his throat, and she quickly turned around.

"Hello, my name is Isabella – Oh, hi." She seemed confused, blinking a couple of times as if we were a mirage she could dispel. Eleazar coughed again, looking very awkward.

"Isabella, this is Jasper, the special visitor I was telling you about, and his friend," he gestured to me to introduce myself.

"Edward," I responded to him without looking away from her, a smile spreading across my face. Her own face lit up with a beautiful smile, before she reigned it in and professionalism took over.

"Please, follow me, and I'll show you around."

Well, this had certainly gone better than planned.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: HOLY MOTHERFUCKING CHRIST YOU GUYS.**

**It is going to blow. your. minds.**

**I am like, a billion times a team edward girl, but jacob looks........................................ no words, bbz. I know he's 17, but i don't care. It is a whole new plane of hotness, particularly the scene when it rains on him, but i'm sure you'll know it as soon as you see it. **

**The wolves will rock your world, and the ending........ not canon, but fucking lethal. There were screams in the theatre. I can't wait to hear what you guys thought of it, when we can actually talk about it without me spoiling it for you guys.**

**I'm counting the minutes til Eclipse.**

The Strokes - You Only Live Once

**Bella POV**

When I turned around and saw Edward and Jasper standing there, I had never been gladder that I had put on a cute outfit for work that day. Eleazar had told me that we had a special friend of his coming through the gallery, and that I was to lead him around, but never mentioned that it was Jasper Whitlock, or that he would be bringing a friend, the man who had haunted my fantasies since the day I met him. The things I had been thinking about him the night before, and in the shower that morning, were downright perverse.

Although, seeing him in person made what I thought had been vivid memories seem like a stick figure drawing of the Mona Lisa. He was dressed in a black suit, no tie, two buttons loosened exposing a fraction of the skin that I had only seen once before, and was desperate to see again. He looked, as Liam had put it, like sex incarnate.

I tried to hold onto my professionalism, really, I did. Jasper however, did nothing to help my cause, insisting that he wanted to go through the gallery on his own, leaving me to give Edward the tour Eleazar insisted I prepare for them. I led him to the first set of works, some oil paintings we had had for quite a while, and as soon as we were out of the earshot of anyone else, he spoke.

"Hello, princess," he greeted quietly. I _loved_ that nickname, and it did terrible, terrible things to my sense of public decency. I kept my eyes on the art, as did he.

"Hello, Edward," I managed to squeak back.

"This was certainly an unexpected turn of events," he commented.

"Really? You aren't just stalking me?" He laughed gently at my sass.

"Would you hold it against me if I was?"

"Definitely." Not at all. "Though, you haven't exactly done a good job. Your stealth needs some serious work, I've seen you every time you've followed me."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked cheekily. I finally looked at him, mouth agape, feigning horror at his creepy words. He simply laughed, the sound causing me to look away to stop myself from batting my eyes whorishly at him. We moved around to the next area, some mixed medium works on small canvases, that were unusual to the point of almost unpleasant, but for some reason, completely captivating. He tilted his head slightly as his eyes came to rest on them, obviously trying to figure out what they were about. He looked for a few seconds then spoke again.

"So, how's that Mess Hall ticket coming along?"

"I think I should be able to secure one," I replied casually. What he would never know was that I called in a gigantic favour and my friend Seth would no longer be attending the show so that Edward could take his place. "What did you think of the album?"

"I really liked it," he replied, and I internally cheered at his good taste. "It was a bit grungy, but not unpleasantly so." I nodded as we headed through the gallery.

"So," he continued, "when do you finish here tonight?"

"As soon as I get rid of these two obnoxious guys who insisted we hold the gallery open for their private tour," I teased.

"Hey," he defended, "blame the guy in the stupid hat, I had nothing to do with this."

"You're just jealous you couldn't pull off the hat," I taunted. He scoffed.

"Princess, I could pull off a rainbow hat with a propeller on it, that fedora would be a walk in the park," he said arrogantly. I didn't doubt it.

"Prove it," I replied. He laughed again.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"No, I like seeing your hair unobstructed," I confessed unthinkingly as we moved past a few sculptures.

"And why, exactly, is that, Bella?" he asked cockily.

"So I can laugh at the weird colour behind your back, of course," I retorted. I was really impressed with how well I was hiding my lust with backchat, not that I could tell him that.

"Bella," he chided, his voice deeper than before, and laden with authority, "that is no way to treat a client."

"Well I guess it's lucky that my client is Jasper, isn't it?"

"I suppose it is," he acquiesced. "Particularly if there is some kind of art-dealer-client code of appropriate conduct," he said suggestively, and I felt a hand ghost along my waist. My breathing was suddenly slightly uneven. How embarrassing. I looked up at him, fully intent on responding with something obnoxious, but the devilish smirk on his face wiped my mind of all non-sexual thoughts.

"Anyway," he spoke, breaking my lust-driven haze, "I believe I was asking you what you were doing after this?"

_Something profane involving you, hopefully._

"Oh, I don't have anything planned. I'll probably just head home," I said vaguely, hoping to high heaven that he was planning on extending an invitation to me.

"No, you're not," he said authoritatively.

"I'm not?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side in exaggerated confusion. He shook his head.

"You're coming out with me," he informed me.

"Really?" I asked indignantly, crossing my arms across my chest. He nodded, confidence radiating from him. Edward was obviously a man who was used to getting what he wanted.

"Well, what's in it for me?" I asked. The smirk crossed his face again and I immediately knew what he was thinking about. Had he verbalised it, I would have jumped in the middle of my workplace.

"I'm sure we can figure something out."

Jesus tap-dancing Christ.

"And I have no choice in the matter?" I clarified playfully.

"Nope," he confirmed.

"Alright then," I agreed, trying to hold back my smile. We were going on a proper date, and I was thrilled. Men like this didn't happen to me. For a wild second it occurred to me that he might just be too good to be true, but I dismissed the thought. He would most likely be the pinnacle of my dating career, and I was going to enjoy it as much as I could.

"I do, however, have one condition," I informed him.

"And what is that?"

"I pick where we go." He scrutinised my face for a moment.

"Alright," he agreed, "but I pay."

"No dice," I shot back.

"Then I choose where we go, and I pay anyway."

"Why must you pay for everything for me?" I asked, not understanding the weird need he had. It felt like he wanted to buy my time or something.

"Because, Bella, I was raised like a gentleman, and that's what we do."

"Oh." Well, I guess none of the other guys I'd dated had been gentleman.

"And," he added smugly, "I am a successful lawyer, lets not forget." I elbowed him.

"Must you assault me every time we meet?" he asked, faux desperation in his tone.

"Yes, because you insist on being a douche," I retorted. We came to the last display in the gallery, a small collection of photos, where I found Jasper standing. He turned to me and smiled, and despite my clear affiliation for Edward, I swooned a little inside.

"I'm going to take these two," he told me, pointing to two of the pictures.

"Jasper, you don't want those."

"Why not, Bella? Aren't you meant to be trying to get me to buy the art, not talking me out of it?" he laughed. Edward looked perplexed as well.

"Jasper, those are my photos, and I just can't imagine you'd want them."

"I don't want them… I'm demanding them. I came here looking for a piece for my wife, but these will be going in my office, they are perfect."

"Bella, they're beautiful," Edward confirmed quietly. Both pictures were black and white shots I had taken with Lauren, although you couldn't see her face, her waif-like shape fitting perfectly with the industrial site I had found for the shoot. It was bleak, and meagre, but strangely beautiful, but I was thoroughly surprised anyone else thought so. I had convinced Eleazar to display a couple of my pieces, on the off chance that someone would actually like them. Now that it was actually happening, I was a little shell-shocked.

Eleazar noticed the exchange and hurried over, congratulating Jasper on his picks and ushering him to the front desk to organise the sale.

"I knew you would be talented," Edward said quietly, and I looked at him. In that moment, the seriousness of what had just happened hit me, and a huge smile burst across my face.

"I made a sale… someone bought my art!" I said gleefully, trying to keep my voice down. He smiled back at me indulgently.

"All the more reason for you to come out with me and celebrate," he said cheekily.

"Alright already," I feigned irritation, "I'll come out with you, sheesh!" He looked a bit shot down, but the big smile I couldn't wipe from my face made it clear I was kidding, and moments later he was smiling with me again. We walked over to the front desk, and Eleazar let me know that I could head off for the evening, and Jasper told Edward that he was free to head off if he so desired. I thanked Jasper again for buying my pieces, and he thanked me in return as Eleazar beamed at me. I still couldn't get over it, someone had bought _my _work.

I snatched my bag from under the desk and left the gallery before they could change their minds or something. Edward was outside, leaning against a brick wall, smoking. I walked over to him, trying to resist the urge to run and throw myself into his arms, and he smirked at me again. I picked up the hand that was holding his cigarette and lifted it to my mouth, taking a slow drag and gently pressing my lips to his fingers as I did so. I pulled back and smiled lazily at him before exhaling, enjoying the warm smoke as it left my mouth.

He stared down at me, a little stumped by my forwardness, or so it seemed. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to our surroundings.

"Ok, so where are we going?" I thought on it for a second and made my choice.

"Follow me," I instructed cryptically, not giving anything else away as we walked the distance to my location of choice. I was looking forward to his reaction to one of my favourite places in the world.

We entered, and I heard the familiar chorus of "Konnichi wa!"

"Konban wa!" I called back. Mika, one of my favourite people in the whole world, approached, a smile on her face.

"Ohisashiburi desu!" She scolded playfully. "Ogenki desu ka?"

"Sumimasen deshita," I responded remorsefully. "Hai, genki desu." We smiled at each other then her gaze shifted to Edward, standing behind me looking totally lost.

"Ni?" she asked, holding up the corresponding fingers.

"Hai," I responded, and she led us to a small table by the train. We took our seats, and Edward looked at me, completely confused.

"Ok, so two things," he said. "One, you speak Japanese?"

I nodded. "Yeah, a little. Mika was giving me crap because I haven't been in for ages. I went over there for a while after I finished school, it was amazing, and I picked up a little of it, not much more than what you just heard, though."

"Did you bring me here just to show that off?" he asked, and I laughed.

"Yep, you caught me. Now what was the second thing?"

"Oh right. Why is the food on a conveyer belt?" he asked. I sighed dramatically.

"I should have known Mr Fancy Pants Lawyer would never have been to Sushi Train before. It satisfies every craving for Japanese food that you could possibly have."

"What would you have done if I didn't like Japanese food?" he asked teasingly.

"Kicked you to the curb, everyone normal likes Jap," I told him.

"And if I was deathly allergic to seaweed?"

"I would have to stop hanging out with you, I'm sorry, but I like sushi too much."

"I guess it's lucky for me I'm a sushi fan then, isn't it?" he asked.

"I suppose so, if you plan on enjoying the privilege of my company," I retorted.

We talked and laughed our way through dinner. I was amazed at how well we got along, and how easily we conversed, especially considering how much I wanted to defile him in public. Normally, when I wanted someone, which wasn't particularly often, I found it almost impossible to just talk to them. After what felt like 10 minutes but was closing in on two hours, he looked down at his empty bowl, then back at me. His eyes were slightly troubled and I felt nerves deep in my stomach.

"Bella," he asked somewhat tentatively, which was a stark change from his normally cocky demeanour, "how old are you?"

Shit. I'd known this was coming eventually. I had just hoped eventually was a lot further away than this moment.

"How old do you think I am?" I asked evasively.

"I'm not sure, 23, 24?"

"Which would make me your age?" I asked, trying again to deflect.

"Am I right?" he asked. I sighed. Honesty was the best policy here. What was the worst thing that could happen?

"Alright, fine. I'm 19." His chopsticks went clattering to the table.

"19?" he choked out. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, tugging on it gently before releasing it. "Fuck," he groaned.

"Well how old are you?" I asked, a little irritated at his response.

"I'm 31, Bella!" he cried.

Oh fuck. Holy motherfucking fuck.

"Bullshit." There was no way that was true.

"How can you be 19?! You're just so… _not 19_!"

"How can _you_ be 31? You're so fun! And hot!" I lamented.

"Show me your ID, I don't believe it," he said.

"You show me your's."

I took his license, and true to his word, he was 31 years old… and, somehow managed to look completely fuckable in his photo, which had to be illegal or something. We both sat in silence, looking down at the table, trying to come to terms with the new information. Eventually, I met his eyes.

"Edward, this is awkward and a lot earlier than I'd planned on telling you this, but it seems necessary. I like you. I do, I think we've been having fun and could continue to have fun, if this age thing doesn't overpower us. Clearly, neither of us are what the other anticipated someone our age to be, so maybe we can figure a way around this." I waited on his response, hoping I didn't come off as desperate or clingy. He sighed then nodded his head. He smiled gently.

"I… I like you too, Bella. I don't think this has to be a big deal unless we make it one."

"Exactly," I agreed wholeheartedly.

"So," he smiled, "you really thought I was 23, and hot?" he asked mischievously. I groaned, dropping my face into my hands.

"Your ego knows no bounds, does it?" He shook his head, smirking again.

"If you were next to me, you'd be taking an elbow to the chest right about now," I warned him, and he smiled victoriously.

"Lucky I'm all the way over here, being hot."

"That's it, I hate you." Although I was pretending to be irritated, inside I was thrilled that we were joking about this already. Maybe it wouldn't be a big a deal as I had initially thought.

Edward paid our bill, despite my protests, with a shiny black credit card that I suspected had a limit that would make me blush, or possibly faint. After bidding goodbye to Mika, we departed. He waited outside with me until I could get a cab, and when one pulled up, I felt this strange tugging sensation in my chest, almost as though my body was rebelling against the idea of leaving him.

I smiled at him once more and turned to climb into the open cab door, when I felt him grab my hand. In what felt like a moment from a 1940's film, he spun my body back so that it was facing him and firmly placed his lips against my own in a chaste but still soul-crushing kiss. When he released me, I felt a little dizzy, and stumbled slightly on my own feet.

"Goodnight, princess," he smirked at me before dropping my hand.

"Oh… bye," I said breathily before I got my bearings back and climbed into the cab. As it pulled away, I turned around to see him watch me leaving. I settled myself in the seat, smiling hugely to myself. Thursday couldn't come soon enough.

**AN: I've been to Japan a couple of times, and although I can speak basic Japanese with some accuracy, my typing and grammar is probably way off. So anyone who speaks it better than I do, I apologise.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: It was 110 degrees in Sydney when I finished this. Hell on earth.  
So to escape the heat, I sat in a movie theatre watching New Moon again. So on the whole, my day worked out just fine.**

**Also, links can be found on my livejournal, which can be found on my profile, so check that shiz out if you so desire.**

The Wombats – Let's Dance to Joy Division

**Edward POV**

She was nineteen.

_Nineteen_.

I couldn't fucking believe it. When Jasper had grabbed me at the entrance to the gallery and quietly told me to find out how old she was as soon as I could, I didn't understand it. Eleazar must have made some comment about her age. As I sat in the cab on the way home after dinner, I thought about what that meant for me and for us.

I'm not going to lie; a part of me was really fucking impressed with myself. She was 19, clever, funny, and not to mention absolutely stunning, and yet, here she was, hanging out with me, and professing that she liked me and that my age wasn't a big deal to her. I still smiled when I thought about her confession that she thought I was in my mid twenties and hot. Her lack of verbal filter on occasion was one of her most endearing qualities, which was saying something, because I found everything about her either endearing or arousing.

My concern was that I didn't want to come across as this creepy older man, looking to play the role of sugar daddy. This was going to be difficult, because I had been raised to always do the right thing by a girl, and in my previous relationships, girls had loved the fact that I had money. It hadn't really bothered Rose, because she had money herself, but the others had enjoyed being wined and dined, and I wasn't used to girls like Bella, who weren't phased by it.

Regardless of her age, Bella didn't really seem like the superficial type to me. I really didn't think that I needed to prove myself to her in that way, particularly based on how awed and embarrassed she had been the first night I met her and had insisted on buying her drinks. However, I refused to drop my gentlemanly ways, so that was something she was going to have to get used to.

I let myself into my apartment, grabbed a beer and set up camp on the deck furniture on my balcony, lighting a cigarette and allowing myself some time to think. I knew that I wasn't exactly doing the right thing by Bella, but when I was with her, everything else melted away. There was no Rose, no Emmett, none of my obligations to be a certain person, live a certain way. I thrived on the feeling she gave me. I grimaced at that thought. She was so much more than a bit of escapist fun for me. The feeling when my lips touched hers was invigorating, something I had never felt before. It made all my prior experiences seem like… nothing. Like they hadn't existed.

I felt like such a cliché. I was in this empty, hollow shell of a marriage, and was turning to a girl who couldn't even buy liquor because she made me feel alive. It had midlife crisis written all over it, and I was far too young for that shit. The logical part of me knew that if I should end my marriage, but when I thought of Rose, and what it would do to her if I left her, I worried. Our marriage did both of us a lot of favours, and if she had Emmett, I really didn't see the harm. Alright, that was total bullshit. Rose and I couldn't talk about it, or acknowledge her infidelity, I knew her well enough to know that there was no way in hell she would ever admit to it. She was too proud.

What I wanted to do, and what I knew was the right thing to do were warring in my head, and the only time I could silence them was when I was with the very reason for their battle, Bella. I couldn't tell my family because they would freak, as with Rose. I couldn't tell Jasper because he would tell Alice, and even though she never especially loved Rosalie, she did love the institution of marriage and everything it stood for. And I couldn't exactly confess to Bella that I was having a moral dilemma about being with her due to my marriage, because I was far too selfish to risk her walking away.

I groaned. This really was an impossible situation, and dealing with it on my own was getting me absolutely nowhere. Suddenly, the answer hit me like a lightning bolt. I picked up my phone and typed out a text.

**T – Hey, I need two fellow lady lovers to accompany me to dinner so they can talk me through my latest fuck up. Got any suggestions? The only lesbians I know have this baby now, and they're really fucking lame. Well, even lamer than they were before the baby. Thanks – E**

Tanya and Irina were absolutely amazing to talk to when you couldn't sort shit out. They were like the angel and devil on your shoulders, helping you explore all possibilities, but usually allowing you to come to a decision on your own. Not to mention, they were really fun to hang out with, and hopefully would give some semblance of a distraction.

I decided an early night was definitely in order, and after finishing my beer, I got organised and climbed into bed, noting that the time was only about 10:30pm. God, I was feeling older and older with every second that had passed since finding out Bella's age. I'd even looked over my skin for any obvious signs of aging as I'd cleaned my teeth, before scoffing at my own shallow behaviour. I knew I was a good looking guy, but a good looking 30 year old was not even close to a good looking 20 year old. I quickly dismissed the thought, knowing that vanity would get me nowhere. Bella had told me she was into me, regardless of my age, and that was what I would focus on.

Or maybe I could focus on stopping being such an insufferable douche. Even I was rolling my eyes at my internal monologues complaints.

My phone chimed, breaking me out of my self-loathing.

**E – Despite your hateful, bigoted offer, we have decided to join you, even though you are a complete and utter wanker. That said, you're paying, rich boy, because even lame lesbians have to pay for babysitters. – T**

**T – Whatever, we make the same money. – E**

**E –We do, hell, I probably make more than you, but you're the one who wants our help, so you're going to take us somewhere fancy and buy us cocktails because we haven't been out in an embarrassingly long time, kapiche? – T**

**T – Shit, do they teach manipulation at lesbian school? – E**

**E –Yeah, I run the class. See you tomorrow. – T**

**T – I know seeing me is the highlight of your day, but does Irina? – E**

**E – You are such a jackass. We're going to bed now. Goodnight. – T**

**T – Don't get carpet burn. – E**

**E – Seriously, you're getting junk punched tomorrow. – T**

**T – Any excuse to touch my junk with you, isn't it? – E**

**E – Fuck off, Edward. – T**

I laughed, but didn't reply to that. I rolled over and tried to get comfortable, finally drifting off to the thought of Bella's face when Jasper had bought her photos with a small smile on my own.

The next day at the office dragged. Before Bella, I had loved for my work, lived for it even, because it gave me something constant and demanding to do rather than deal with my marital situation. Now, when I had somewhere I'd rather be, something else to do, I just didn't want to be here. I slaved my way through the day, counting down the moments until it was an acceptable time for me to go and get Tanya for us to go to dinner.

Finally, the happy couple sauntered in, each leaning on one side of my doorframe, their hips almost touching in the middle. It looked like something from the start of an office-themed porno, but I knew better. I groaned.

"You know what? Most guys would think that this would be fun for me. Oh yay, two hot lesbians parading around looking stunning and kissing in public! It's not fun, it's awful!" I whined and they laughed.

"Thanks for the compliment, even though you tried damn hard to disguise it," Irina responded jovially. I knew that they loved this shit; it was my way of complimenting them without coming across as creepy or opportunistic. Irina did look lovely, dressed in a corset-style top and dark jeans. Tanya always looked like a total vamp, dressed in tight fitting black pants and a neutral pinky blouse thing. They made an absolutely striking pair.

"Alright ladies," I started as I grabbed my suit jacket, "where am I taking my favourite gorgeous, albeit conniving lesbians?"

"Irina made reservations," Tanya informed me as she wrapped an arm around her partner's waist. Twenty minutes later we were seated at some fancy bar not far from our office. Before Bella, I would have felt completely at ease, if not a little bored at a place like this, but now, it seemed completely intolerable. However, I was going to laden the girl with some pretty heavy stuff, and if this was the place they wanted to be when I did it, then I would indulge them.

"Ok," Tanya announced as our third round of drinks arrived. "Let's hear it."

"Alright" I stalled, rubbing my hands over my face as I tried to structure my thoughts. The alcohol wasn't helping. "I met someone."

Irina immediately leaned forward.

"What do you mean, you met someone? Like, you made a new acquaintance? Or you _met someone_ met someone?" I looked down, focusing my eyes on my drink.

"Met someone, met someone," I muttered, before looking up. Both looked intrigued, although Tanya appeared excited and Irina concerned.

"You're still with Rose, though?" Irina confirmed. I nodded.

"Fuck Rosalie, who is this girl?" Tanya interjected.

"That's the thing," I told them, and they looked absolutely rabid for information. "She's actually… she's 19."

There was a moment of silence, and then Tanya burst into hysterical laughter. I grimaced, running my hands through my hair and trying to stop myself from biting her head off, knowing it would only incite more mockery.

"Are you… are you kidding me?" she choked out between laughs.

"Yeah, I don't find it so funny, myself," I grumbled.

"What… Why are you doing this?" she asked as she settled herself.

"Look, there's really no way I can explain this to her without you meeting her, but she's just… she's unlike anyone I've ever met. It wouldn't have mattered if she was 19, or 29, or 49." Tanya looked at me condescendingly.

"It wouldn't," I insisted. "She's amazing. She brings out the me that I used to like being, not this asshole me that I've morphed into in recent years. I feel like myself with her, and I know that this is so wrong, but I just… I don't think I can give her up." Irina looked contemplative and somewhat sympathetic, but Tanya certainly didn't.

"Edward this is so tacky. You're saying that fucking some 19 year old girl makes you feel like your real self?" she asked.

"I haven't fucked her," I said quietly, and both of their expressions transformed to surprise.

"And yet, you still feel like this about her?" Irina asked, looking thoughtful. I nodded and looked down at my drink before taking a big pull from it. This felt like telling your parents you had a girlfriend when you were 15 or something. It was mortifying. They both sat in silence for a short while, and when I looked up, they appeared deep in thought.

"Rose is still fucking the poolboy, yes?" Tanya asked.

"The gardener, but yeah," I confirmed.

"Why won't you leave her, Edward?" Irina asked, as she placed her hand over my own. I looked down again.

"I don't know… I just feel like… she was my best friend for so long, and our marriage has done so much for us, and with my family and hers… I just don't want to harm all the people this would inevitably hurt."

"So what," Tanya interjected, her voice harsh, "you're going to stick it out with a woman you can't stand, hiding away in the city with some pretty young thing on the side because you're afraid your family will get the shits with you?"

"Tanya, it's just not that simple."

"It is, Edward!" she almost yelled. "We can't even get married, and yet, here you are, shitting all over the institution that we would love to, but aren't allowed to be a part of!" she cried, a little hysterically. Irina immediately reached out, and the physical contact quickly calmed her. I recoiled from the harshness of both her tone and words. Which wasn't to say that I didn't deserve them.

"I'm sorry," she said, more calmly this time. "That was unfair." It really wasn't. "I understand you may have your…reasons for staying in this marriage, but what about Bella? Does she know?"

I shook my head, feeling thoroughly ashamed of myself.

"Oh, Edward," Irina lamented. She had a maternal air about her that reminded me of my own mother.

"Do you plan on telling her?" Tanya probed.

"Well, obviously, at some point, I'll have to. But even though I've only known her five days… I just… I want her so much, and she'd leave. She _should_ leave, but I don't think I could handle it. I couldn't even keep her as a friend after this now." I ran my fingers through my hair roughly, tugging at the ends. The situation was so impossible to deal with. I knew without looking up that my friends would have pity all over their faces, and I couldn't take it, so I focused studiously on my drink.

"I… I don't know what to do," I confessed.

"You have to tell her," they said in perfect unison.

"Edward," Tanya started, "you can't do this to her. If you care about her, you have to be honest. If she feels anything like what you seem to be feeling for her, you'll only hurt her more the longer you withhold this. You'll have to explain it to her as best you can and see what she thinks. If she's as important to you as you say she is, you should respect her enough to tell the truth."

"But we also think you should leave Rose," Irina added. "You haven't been happy for a long time, and if you want any kind of future with this girl, you're going to have to do it eventually."

I sighed. These were all things I already knew, but having someone else tell me made them all too real. I was overwhelmed a little by my own selfish actions. I was going to drag this remarkable girl into a tawdry relationship, without her knowledge, while remaining married to a woman that although I didn't hate, I clearly didn't want to be with any more.

I looked up at the couple before me. They were an example of a real relationship, and even though they weren't married, they put my marriage to shame. Love radiated from them, and they acted as a single unit, flawlessly supporting each other, and not only when it was required in public. Rose and I would never have that, but with Bella… I felt like maybe I had a chance.

"Also," Tanya said, breaking me from my abstraction, "you have to tell her _before_ you have sex with her, because if you wait til afterwards, you'll break her heart. Give her the chance to make an informed choice about you before you two get physically involved like that, because if you sleep together, and then you tell her, and she can't deal with it, you'll hurt her so much worse."

I swallowed down a groan at her instruction. I knew it was true, but the idea of never getting to feel Bella that way made me feel a bit nauseous, although the alcohol I had consumed probably wasn't helping considerably. I nodded in silent agreement. She looked at me appraisingly, and saw straight through me.

"Promise me."

I sighed. "I promise."

"Good," she smiled.

"Alright," I changed the subject, "we need another round before the oestrogen massing around here suffocates me." They laughed lightly and allowed me to shift the conversation elsewhere.

A couple of hours, and a lot of drinks later, I arrived at home, thoroughly bored, considering it was 10:30pm on a Tuesday night and I was a little bit drunk. I stripped down to my boxers and flopped onto my bed, closing my eyes against the slight dizziness that accompanied. Once it cleared, I picked up my phone and dialled.

"Hello?" Bella's sweet voice came through, and I couldn't control the smile that spread across my face.

"Hello, princess," I greeted her.

"Hey, Edward, what are you up to?" she asked. I loved hearing my name coming from her lips.

"Oh, not much. Just got back from dinner," I answered.

"Dinner, or drinks?" she laughed.

"Um… mostly drinks… there was some eating, though," I rationalised. She laughed again, and then yawned.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I asked, feeling like a giant asshole.

"It's fine, really, I fell asleep just after I got out of the shower, the warm water does that to me sometimes," she explained. "Hang on one second, I have to pull on some clothes."

"Wait."

"Yes?"

"Are you naked right now?" God help me if she was.

She snorted. "Is that the reason you rang? Is this one of _those_ phone calls?"

"It could be," I said suggestively. She laughed.

"Wow, I thought you were so smooth, and here you are, drunk dialling me on a Tuesday night and asking what I'm wearing," she teased.

"You never did tell me what you were wearing, by the way," I reminded her.

"And I have no intention to."

"Does that mean you're naked and trying to hide it from me?" I feigned suspicion.

"No, Edward."

I sighed dramatically.

"Well, you're no fun."

"Are _you_ naked?" she retorted.

"Why? Do you want me to be?" I questioned back. I could almost hear her rolling her eyes.

"You are an intolerably facetious drunk," she chided gently and I chuckled.

"You mean intolerably gorgeous," I corrected her.

"That too," she conceded, before yawning again.

"Well, you're obviously sleepy, and come to think of it, I'm rather sleepy myself, so I'll let you go. Before I do though, are we on for Thursday?" I asked, trying to draw out the conversation a little more without appearing rude.

"That we are, do you want to meet at my house or there?" she questioned.

"Your house is probably easier," I answered, although I was really hoping that I could get some more making out time with her before the show.

"Alright," she said sleepily and I heard some rustling in the background.

"Are you in bed now, gorgeous?" I asked.

"Yeah, after I got home from dinner last night Liam and Lauren made me celebrate getting my photos sold with two bottles of vodka and I'm in dire need of some sleep," she told me. I could envision her now, with her head on the pillow, tucked under her covers, hopefully naked.

"Ah, to be young," I said impulsively, then immediately froze, wondering what her response would be.

"Oh yeah, because at 31 you basically have one foot in the grave, don't you?" she laughed lightly, and I relaxed.

"I'll feel like it tomorrow when I get up," I lamented as I pulled then kicked my sheets down so I could climb into bed myself.

"Are you in bed, gorgeous?" she mimicked, and I chuckled, my voice a little gravely from exhaustion and cigarettes.

"Mmhmm," I responded, momentarily distracted by how good my head felt against my pillow.

"Alright, well… Goodnight, Edward."

"Goodnight, Bella."

A minute later, I still hadn't hung up the phone, and I heard her quiet voice.

"Edward?"

"Yeah, princess?" I murmured, my eyes still closed with the phone lodged between my head and the pillow as I lay on my side.

"You're still there." It wasn't a question.

"Yep."

She paused for a few moments.

"Good."

"Good."

The next thing I knew, it was morning, and I had had the best nights sleep of my life.

I was well and truly fucked.


	7. Chapter 7

Lady Gaga - Teeth

**Bella POV**

I shut the door before turning to look at him. The look in his eye was downright predatory, and I was nearly trembling as a result.

"So," I choked out as he pressed me up against my front door, "what did you think of the gig?" His lips started moving across my throat and I no longer gave a shit what he thought of the gig.

"Do you really care what I thought?" he murmured against my skin before his teeth grazed my collarbone. The teeth effectively sent me into a brain-dead state, where all legitimate conversation became impossible.

"Not at all," I breathed as I pulled my arms around his shoulders and hoisted myself up. He grabbed my ass and I wrapped my legs around his waist. The tension had reached breaking point throughout the course of the night, and neither of us could cope with it a second longer. Lauren, Liam and the others had gone to the after party, but all I wanted was to get Edward alone. They had agreed not to come back, for which I would be eternally grateful.

His mouth finally made it to my own, and I locked him in a kiss that I thought would actually incinerate me. The room felt like it was 200 degrees, although much of the heat was coming from within me. It was a heady, overwhelming thing, how much I wanted him. I had never encountered this kind of attraction before, and I was desperate to explore it. I'd tell him, but the thought of pulling my lips from his own made me want to cry.

My fingers found their way up into his hair and I was decided. We would do it here. There was absolutely no way I was stopping for a single second to change location. Suddenly, I felt a slight swaying indicative of… movement. Moments later, I was thrown down onto the bed and Edward crawled over me. Wow. I hadn't even realised. I fumbled for my boots, unzipping then tearing them off before I wrapped my arms around Edward's body again. My waistcoat and dress quickly joined the growing pile on my bedroom floor.

The feel of his skin against my own was causing what felt like a static reaction, my whole body prickling. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation by any means. His mouth trailed down my newly exposed cleavage, and within seconds I was writhing against him, completely dizzy with need. My hands were locked in his hair and he finally came back up to push his lips to mine again as he unclasped my bra with a finesse I had never before experienced. We hadn't even crossed second base and already he had blown my other sexual experiences out of the water.

As my bra straps came down I reached for his jeans, unbuckling the belt and pulling open the button sloppily. I pulled down the sheets and then he took a moment to look at me, topless in my bed. I was ogling him right back though. He was the epitome of masculinity, and I was momentarily stunned at his attractiveness.

His eyes raked over me. "Princess, I have been imagining you, exactly like this, since I met you, and it is so…you are absolutely fucking stunning."

With that, he crawled back over me and I took the opportunity to run my hands under his shirt and over the lines of his back as we kissed. The feel of him pressed against me, and under my hands, was overwhelming, and I was a woman possessed. My need for him was clouding my mind completely, and the moans and whimpers that radiated from me were doing nothing to conceal how desperately I wanted him. Thankfully, he didn't seem to mind that I was starting to sound like a porn star.

His lips left my own and started trailing down my jaw and throat, and I was mewling and writhing about to a truly embarrassing extent. It was almost troubling, how easily turned I was where Edward was concerned. At that moment, he was concerning himself with my cleavage, licking and kissing his way down it, and driving me absolutely insane. One of his hands slid from my stomach to my breast, cupping it firmly, the warmth of his hand drawing almost all of my focus. I involuntarily arched my back up slightly to meet him, and he groaned. His mouth moved to my other breast, and he placed the softest kiss on my nipple before taking it in his mouth. He sucked for a moment, running his teeth along my peak as he released it.

The feeling of his teeth on me nearly blew my mind and I groaned obscenely.

"Fuck, Edward…"

He looked up, smirking.

"Yes, princess?"

"Your teeth… they just… fuck," I stuttered out, and he repeated the motion as my head lolled to the side. I was completely out of it, he could have done anything to me now and I would have begged for more. Judging by the look on his face, he knew it as well as I did. After an eternity of delicious torture, I was ready to explode. Or hit him.

"Edward, please stop teasing me, please," I begged. His advances began to slow and I momentarily rejoiced that we were finally going to do what I'd been thinking about since the day I met him. I then found myself shocked by the loss of contact when he sat back on his heels and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Fuck," he cursed. I sat up to look at him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, a sinking feeling taking up residence in my stomach.

"I… I can't do this." He finally met my eyes and must have read the rejection in them, which I wasn't exactly able to hide at this point.

"I really, _really_ fucking want to, but I just… can't. Not now."

"I don't understand," I told him quietly. He looked at me, guilt written all over his features.

"I know you don't. You will, though. Eventually. I promise."

What the fuck did that mean?

"Edward, you don't have to make excuses. If you don't want to be here, that's fine. Whatever." I knew how petulant I sounded, but I was hurt. I leaned over the bed and grabbed my dress, pulling it back over my body, obscuring myself. Apparently, I had misread the situation, and he wasn't interested. Which was fucking bullshit, because he'd seemed pretty damn interested to me. He sat on the side of the bed, his head in his hands. I would have moved to sit beside him if it wasn't apparent by this point that he was not happy being so close to me.

"Shit, Bella," he almost groaned, "you're misunderstanding me. I _do_ want to be here. I want you so badly I don't know what to do with myself."

I knew what to do with him, but _he wouldn't fucking let me_.

"Then what's the problem, Edward? I don't understand." I was trying hard to keep the pleading tone out of my voice so as not to appear desperate. Well, even more desperate than I appeared when I was almost naked and underneath him, begging for attention before he shot me down with no explanation.

Wow, it looked so much worse now that the lust driven haze had ascended.

"Fuck… Fuck!" He cursed, clawing at his hair. I wanted to take his hands out of his hair, but worried that physical contact might make things worse. "I knew better than to come back here tonight… but you're so fucking… Argh! I can't explain this to you now… it would ruin everything." He was barely making any sense at all, and I was starting to panic. What was he withholding from me?

"You can tell me. I won't be angry, I promise. You're starting to freak me out." He sighed and removed his hands from his hair. He finally looked at me.

"Bella… I can't tell you now. I need to think it through, figure out some way to do this." I tried as hard as I could to pull back the tears that I could feel starting up, and to level my head so I could respond to him.

"Alright. You clearly need time, so you should probably get going." My voice sounded too calm, devoid of feeling.

"Bella –"

"No. You have some stuff you need to figure out, and I don't want to be in your way while you do that." He looked so sad, so I tried to lighten the mood a bit. "And I want you to talk to me as soon as possible, and hopefully continue what we started here, so you need to go and deal with whatever this is right now."

He smiled a little, and nodded. I looked down, fidgeting with my comforter so as not to fold and beg him to stay with me. He crossed my room, turning to face me when he reached the doorframe.

"Bella?"

I looked up at him.

"I just want you to know, I feel something when I'm with you that I've never felt, and I have no intention of giving that up. Yes, I am a huge fuckup, and I have some shit I need to deal with, but I'm hoping, somewhat foolishly I suppose, that we can get past all of it. " He smiled softly and I smiled back. Though his words were very sweet, I had no idea how to respond to them, because I didn't know what he was alluding to.

"Goodnight, princess." With that, he turned away from me.

"Edward?"

He looked over his shoulder.

"Hurry up and sort your crap out, ok?"

He smiled winningly at me, the view making me melt a little, before waving at me and then leaving my line of sight. A few moments later I heard my front door click shut.

I got up, sent a text to Liam and Lauren telling them they were free to return whenever they wished, and hopped in the shower. I found myself feeling very lonely all of a sudden. I moped around the apartment, dragging my feet and wallowing, utterly bored and alone. All I could focus on was how horribly wrong the evening had played out. I knew I was being a baby, but I was enjoying sulking far too much to stop. I sat down on my bed, grabbed my ipod and put on some depressing music, letting it drag me even lower.

I had always found it amazing that music could play with your moods, and I toyed with it often. Tonight, it was working very well, and I found myself getting a little teary as I sat cross-legged on my bed, looking at my feet. I heard a sound, muted by my earphones, and pulled one out as I looked up to see Liam standing in my doorway.

"Well, look who's a grumpy gus! What happened, baby?" he asked sympathetically as he crossed the room, sitting opposite me in the same position on the end of my bed. "I'd ask if Edward Sexhands was a bad lay, but I know that is impossible. Someone who can give visual orgasms can't be unable to give real ones, it'd just be cruel."

"I don't know if he's a good lay or not," I muttered, looking down.

"What do you mean?" he asked, completely taken aback. "From the looks of things at the gig, you two were about to tear each other to shreds! I was about to suggest you break the tension in the disabled bathroom or something! What happened?"

"He left. We were… well, I was almost naked and then suddenly, he said he couldn't do it, and he left." My voice dropped increasingly lower as I spoke, and my final words were obscured by the quiet sobs now wracking through me. My shoulders shook gently as I cried, and I felt Liam move to place his body behind me, his legs and arms wrapping around me as if we were about to go down a slide together. He brushed my hair off my shoulder and rested his head there.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. He's obviously a stupid douche, and despite his prettiness, not worth your time if he's going to blow you off. I'm a gay man, and even I can tell you're a total fox." I knew he was trying to sooth me, but it wasn't helping.

"He said," I sniffled, "that he wanted to, but had something to sort out before we could be together. He didn't say what, but he said that he'd tell me eventually."

"So he left with no explanation, but promised he would explain eventually?"

"More or less, yeah. He said that if he told me now, it would ruin things, and that he had to figure some stuff out." Liam nodded, then thought for a moment.

"You don't sound angry, hon. If some a-hole blueballed me and fucked off, I would be murderous," he mused.

"I was at first. I was so hurt that he just bailed all of a sudden, but…"

"He used hot-man magic to make you feel better?"

"Basically… it was smoking-hot-but-still-really-sweet-man magic, actually."

"Oh," he said knowingly, "that is some serious mind-fuckery right there."

I nodded in agreement.

I turned around to face the man I adored most in the world, our faces only inches apart. Years of friendship and his overwhelming attraction to men meant that there was no discomfort between us.

"I think I just want to go to sleep," I told him. He nodded, and kissed my lips in a goodnight gesture before climbing off my bed. He turned off my light as he left the room, and I rolled over, trying in vain to settle myself into a comfortable position.

About 15 minutes later Liam knocked gently on my bedroom door.

"Babe, I found this. Is it yours?"

I looked up, to see him holding Edward's flashy phone in his hands. I reached out for it at once. He absolutely loved that thing, and lived by it. He was probably going completely insane without it, particularly if he didn't know where it was. Also, I wanted it returned to him as it was the sole means of contact between us. I had no other way of speaking with him, or making plans with him, if not through the iPhone that was Liam had just passed me.

I looked at it, not entirely sure as to how to proceed. I supposed that I could just wait until he inevitably called it and inform him that it was here, so that he could come and pick it up. That worked for me, because hopefully it would get around our 'sorting-out-our-shit' contact embargo and I would get to lay eyes on him, if only for a short while.

How desperate.

I finally managed to fall into a light sleep, and awoke the next morning to find that no one had attempted to call Edward's phone. Unsure as to what to do, I sat for a few moments, thinking it over as I toyed idly with the phone. Apparently, I had pressed a button too hard, because the screen lit up, and I saw that it had an address book. Inspiration struck instantly. I finally worked out how to scroll through the stupid thing and located the number for 'home'. After another minor struggle, and several slanderous comments about Steve Jobs, I pressed the call button and tentatively placed the phone to my ear, hoping that this would come across as thoughtful and not stalker-like.

After a few rings, the line picked up.

"Cullen Residence, this is Rosalie," a melodic voice rang through the phone.

**AN: Uh oh.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Here's one for you guys before i go away for 4 days for a beachin', drinkin' holiday with 12 friends............. including my ex-boyfriend, who is english and overrides my sense of decency every time he opens his damn mouth. wish me luck ladies, because i'm going to need it.**

**In other news, I seem to have picked up a little bunch of new readers. Welcome!! Can I ask where you found me? ****If someone's been reccing me, or whoring my tale, some thanks are definitely in order, so let me know, kk?**

**Also, I'd love to hear from any of you who are reading 1step as well, and what you think about my stories by comparison!!**

Washington – How To Tame Lions  
(phenomenal song, even by my standards)

**Edward POV**

I looked down at the phone sitting in my hands, reading the post-it note obscuring the screen one more time, perhaps in the vain hope that it would say something different this time. It didn't. Her cute print, that suited her perfectly and would have made me smile any other time stared me obnoxiously in the face.

**Edward – You left your phone at my house. Your wife told me how to get it to you. Now that I understand, I'm glad you left on Thursday. – B**

I stripped the note off my phone and went to call her. I had no idea what to say, but I had to do something. I couldn't lose her now, not when I'd been so close to telling her myself. She'd found out the worst possible way, by speaking to Rosalie directly. I almost wanted to call Rose and tell her off, but really, I had no grounds at all to do such a thing. I really, really fucking wanted to though.

I scrolled through my phone, and strangely, could not find her number. I knew where it would be, as my phone was ordered alphabetically, and she was on my speed dial, but she just didn't seem to be there. Then a nauseating realisation hit me. She'd deleted her number. I had no means of contacting her now, and she wanted it that way. What was even worse was the knowledge that she had come into my office this morning to drop off the phone, and I had been in the boardroom, helping out in a meeting for a case I wasn't even fucking involved in. I had missed seeing her, getting a chance to explain myself, for no motherfucking reason.

She had walked away, just as I had feared she would. She had every right to, but it hurt in a way that I was unfamiliar with. A dull ache developed in the pit of my stomach, as if I had swallowed a rock, pulling it down. I swallowed against the feeling, took a large gulp of coffee, and yet it remained.

I had only known the girl a week, and yet I felt like I had lost my best friend. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands, fighting the urge to yell, or break something to vent my frustration. I buzzed Tanya and a few moments later, she stepped into my office.

"What the hell do you – Edward, what's wrong?" her tone went from jovial to tense in a second. I simply held out the post-it note. She picked it from my hand, read it, and sighed.

"Oh no," was all she said. What a stupid fucking response. I almost told her that, but refrained. I didn't want to push away the only other person in the world who actually knew me. She walked around my desk and perched herself so that she was leaning against it and facing me, only about a foot away. She put her hand on my shoulder, which I'm sure she meant as a consoling gesture, but it did nothing. I was sulking like a child, I knew that, but I wasn't especially bothered to be honest. Tanya knew me well enough not to judge me based on this.

"What the fuck do I do now?" I asked, my voice coming out desperate, almost whiny. "She deleted her number from my phone, so she clearly doesn't want anything to do with me." I let my head drop to my desk. "I've fucked everything up."

Tanya huffed.

"Can you stop being such a fucking woman, Edward? Man up!" she scolded. The good-cop-bad-cop thing didn't work as well when only the bad cop was present. This tough love wasn't fun at all.

"Where's Irina?" I asked, not lifting my head, "I like her more than you."

"I have one child Edward, and it is not you."

I sighed.

"What can I do?"

"Clearly you don't want to lose her," Tanya mused.

"_Clearly_," I repeated mockingly, acting even more like a child than before. She smacked the back of my head, and I shot up to look her in the eye. Her face looked infuriated.

"If you're going to act like this, I'm going to walk out of the room and leave you to drown in your own self-loathing," she threatened. I softened my facial expression, trying to express to her how much I needed her help. She reached out to the phone on my desk, dialled and put it on speaker.

"Edward?" Irina asked in place of a greeting.

"Babe, he fucked it up," Tanya informed her, and she sighed.

"What happened?" Tanya looked at me, and I reluctantly explained things.

"I left my phone at her place, and she called my home to get it back to me. 'Home' in my phone is the country house, and Rose picked up. I can only guess as to what she said, but when she returned the phone, there was a post-it note on it which made it very clear that she knew everything."

"Shit," Tanya breathed. I nodded.

"What exactly did the post-it say?" Irina asked.

"You left your phone at my house. Your wife told me how to get it to you. Now that I understand, I'm glad you left on Thursday," Tanya read.

"She also deleted her number from my phone," I added.

"You're in serious trouble here, Edward," Irina's voice sounded from the phone. Tanya nodded in agreement with her partner.

"Thanks a lot for the news flash ladies, but what am I supposed to do here?" There was a minute of silence.

"Alright, so we have three options, as I see it," said Irina.

"I was thinking the same thing," Tanya agreed.

"Yeah yeah, you two are a single person in two bodies, I get it," I grumbled. Their relationship was sickening at times. The woman before me rolled her eyes, and I'm sure the one who wasn't was doing the same thing. "What are my options?"

"One, you give her what she wants and leave her alone."

I immediately dismissed that suggestion with a shake of my head.

"Apparently, that one's not an option," Tanya told her. Irina sighed.

"Of course not. Ok, so we're down to two. The second option is you pursue her immediately. Try and get into contact with her, and if she won't see you, pursue her anyway. Send her gifts, letters, whatever you want until she is forced to recognise you."

"I like that one," I admitted.

"You would," she said, a little disdainfully. "It's very you. But I'm not sure it's Bella. I think that, in light of what she has just found out about you, sending her gifts would make her feel like you were trying to buy her. It would come across as insincere. She's not Rose, pretty shiny things won't solve this. That is the reason why I think option three is best." They both paused.

"… Ok, so what is it?" I was quickly growing impatient of their theatrics.

"You, by which I mean we because you are anything but subtle, need to work out some to show her that you're thinking of her, that you're sorry, and that you would greatly appreciate the opportunity to talk things through. The best way to do this would probably be a gift –"

"But you said no gifts," I butted in.

"A gift would be acceptable, but it can't be expensive for the sake of being expensive, or come across as lavish and insincere."

"I could buy all her photos from the gallery," I suggested.

"No, no," Irina's voice dismissed, and Tanya shook her head, "Jasper buying those obviously meant a lot to her, and you purchasing them all would come across as an effort to buy her. It would undermine what she does, something that is very important to her."

Fucking women.

"Well what do you suggest then?" I asked snarkily, letting my frustration be known.

"I suggest you stop acting like such a brat," Tanya shot at me, and I was appropriately embarrassed by my conduct. They were trying to help me, and despite my annoyance, I was grateful.

"Sorry, ladies," I mumbled.

"Thankyou," Irina accepted for the pair. "Now, you need to think of something that would mean something to the two of you, and send her that. Does anything spring to mind? Talk us through your time with her."

"Well," I started, because I could talk about Bella until I was blue in the face, I was such a chick when it came to her, "the first night we met we had cocktails at that fancy bar not far from here, you know the one," I nodded to Tanya and her face lit with recognition. "The second night was at the Laundry House with Jasper, then we had breakfast at that shitty diner she's so fond of, then the next time I saw her was at the gallery, and we went to sushi after that. The last time was Thursday night, when I shot her down for no reason, and that brings us to this morning." At first, I had enjoyed reminiscing about Bella, and all the pictures my mind had conjured when I had mentioned our time together, but by the time I reached the end, I was feeling even more morose than before.

"Ok, so from all of that we need to derive some private thing that she would have picked up on that you can send to her and make it clear that you think about her just as much as I'm sure she thinks about you, and that you deserve an opportunity to explain yourself."

"Even though I don't," I said sadly.

"Well, no," Tanya told me honestly, "but we're lawyers, we can do this!"

"Go team!" Irina cheered from the speaker on my office phone. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You two make great cheerleaders… do you have the costumes?" I asked playfully. Tanya smacked me over the head.

"Was that a smack I heard?" Irina asked.

"Yep," her girlfriend confirmed.

"Good."

They both laughed, and I dramatically rubbed the spot she had hit.

"Ok, so we've reached the conclusion that…" I prompted them.

"That you have some serious thinking to do, and have to come up with some amazingly thoughtful gesture if you have any hope at getting her to talk to you."

"But," I queried, "what happens if she agrees to talk to me?"

"Then we reconvene," Tanya clarified, "and we'll coach you through it. Who better to help a straight man with girl problems than two lesbians? You should consider yourself lucky," she informed me jokingly.

"I am very lucky… you two broads have saddled me with a near impossible challenge, thanks so much," I said sarcastically, and then dodged another slap from Tanya.  
"Guys," Irina interrupted her partner's attack on me, "Katie is stirring, so I'm going to have to leave you two to your bickering. Edward, let us know how things go, ok?"

"Yes, Irina," I chorused.

"Good boy," she said in a motherly tone, "Love you," she directed at Tanya. I quickly got in before she could respond.

"I love you too, but Tanya's still in the room, she'll hear you!"

Tanya scowled at me.

"Love you too, kiss Katie for me, I'll see you tonight," she told her before the line cut out.

"You are such a jackass," she growled, "I don't even know why we help you."

"Because I'm hot?" I asked, feigning innocence. She flipped me off and walked out of the room without another word.

The rest of my day was spent in a blur, trying to figure out how exactly I was going to convince Bella that I wasn't as much of an asshole as I had initially seemed. Close, but not quite as much.

Finally, after much thought, I decided what I would send her as my attempted apology. In that moment, I had never been gladder that I lived in New York, and that I would be able to get the specific things I needed at any time of the day or night if money was no object, which of course it wasn't. I rang Jasper, found out what I needed to know, and got organised, having Leah do most of it for me, because god knows she was better at that kind of shit that I was.

I often wondered how she pulled off some of the shit I had asked her to do for me. I was by no means a crazy boss, but she could get me last minute tickets, planes, more or less anything I asked of her. I couldn't think of a single time where she had been unable to get or do what I had asked of her. She earned every penny of her salary, and then some, that was for sure.

Two hours later, she brought the gift into the room and set it down on my desk.

"Leah, you are a fucking saint," I told her, unable to remove the reverence from my tone. It had worked out even better than I had planned.

"I know, and my Christmas gift this year better be freaking awesome as a result. Let me assure you, this was tricky, even for me with my superpowers of persuasion and general skill at every conceivable thing," she bragged.

"Yeah, yeah," I dismissed her playfully.

"The courier will be here in half an hour, so write your card or letter or whatever now," she instructed before she left the room. She must have known that this gift couldn't possibly be for Rose, mainly because nothing in it was from Bulgari or Hermes, but, god bless her, she kept her thoughts to herself. One of the other things I loved about Leah, she did things without prying, no questions asked, and I respected her immensely for it. Even though I didn't know her very well outside of our professional relationship, she really was one of my favourite people, especially when she pulled off shit like this for me.

I sat for a short while, drafting out my note on a notepad before writing anything down on the card I'd requested. Once I finally had it right, I wrote it out, making sure not to make a spelling mistake or something fucking stupid like that, sealed the card and slid it into the hamper. I think it was a hamper, but I didn't know shit about gifts, hence Leah's involvement.

Tanya entered my office about ten minutes before the courier arrived, looking over the gift and smiling approvingly.

"You did well, straight boy," she told me before she left. I was sweating like a marathon runner when the courier arrived, and told him repeatedly to be fucking careful because if a single thing in there was harmed or broken, I would have his ass before he could get on his stupid-ass bicycle to run away. Threatening him may not have been wise, but the giant tip I put on top of his fee resolved any animosity he may have felt for me, and he left with a big smile and a promise that the package would arrive in perfect condition.

Now I had to wait until Sunday, to see if I could pull this shit off for real. I could only hope that she'd buy into my attempt at being cute and thoughtful and agree to see me, otherwise I'd have to tell the lesbians to fuck off and start following her around like a complete and utter stalker until she spoke to me.

Letting her walk away simply wasn't an option.

**AN: So, what do you think the gift is? Winning guesses get kisses, as well as a super sexy shout out in my next chappy. If a guy was that thoughtful with me, I'd be hella impressed.**

**Finally, at the end of these most mammoth of ANs, I am twittering now.......... so, if you want to hear my boring ramblings, or want me to hear yours (which im assuming would be far more interesting than mine), add me! netracullen is my name, writing crap about crap is my game. to sweeten the deal even further, you can see what i actually look like! ahahah**

**Love love!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I found out a few of you have been pimping me out, and you'll never know how much it means to me. If you are reccing my story, let me know, and I'll read your story and rec it right back if it's as kickass as I assume it will be. **

**On that note, check out ****Storm Before The Calm**** by ****Sweet Mahogany****. Some J/B and E/B right there, so you literally have no reason not to give it a looksee.**

**Also, MyCrazyTwistedMind, you are a clever girl! Much love to you.**

**Don't forget, links on my profile of outfits and songs!!**

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cheated Hearts

**BPOV**

I sulked.

I ranted.

I cried.

I forced my housemates to drink with me, to the point where we were now in a dry household, and danced around drunkenly yelling the words to Alanis Morrisette songs while cursing men to the deepest pits of hell.

Gorgeous, charming, alluring, lovely, thoughtful, _married_ men especially.

My conversation with Rosalie Cullen had been anything but interesting, really. Had I not been making out with, and fantasising about rabidly fucking her husband for the last week, nothing about the conversation would have struck me as note-worthy. I had told her that I had Edward's phone, she had told me to contact his PA, Leah. She then told me, somewhat conspiratorially in a light-hearted tone, that Leah could be difficult at times, and so to tell her that Edward's wife had given me the number and instructed me to call.

She dropped the wife-bomb, without even realising it, and the mushroom cloud ascended. I had scribbled down the number she gave me with shaking hands, thanked her in a trembling voice, then dropped the phone to the floor the moment she hung up. Silent, burning hot tears started flowing and didn't cease until the vodka started flowing, courtesy of Liam, whom I adored even more after the ordeal than I had before. He sat beside me, holding my hand and topping up my glass while I cussed out his entire gender, ranting about how they should be made obsolete and were entirely unnecessary to the productivity and general wellbeing of the world's population. I even went so far as to suggest that they should be farmed like animals, used only as sperm donors to sustain a wholly female race.

It was bitter and childish, but I really didn't care. What did trouble me slightly was that I had only known the man a week, and was reacting more violently to this break up than to actual break ups I had endured, which really pissed me off. He was so special, and different, I had sensed it from the moment we meant. As it turned out, he was different because he was a middle-aged sleazebag intent on using me to garner bragging rights with his other douche bag lawyer friends and to feel like a player when his wife wouldn't have sex with him anymore. He was probably crappy in bed, or tiny, or impotent, and wanted young, naive Bella to sleep with because I didn't have enough experience to know just how shitty he was.

The moment those thoughts ran through my mind, I was already contradicting myself internally, because there was no way in the world that Edward Cullen would be anything other than amazing in bed.

Not that I'd ever get to find out now.

What frustrated me most was that despite what he had done, something that in the past I had always seen as being unforgivable, the complete epitome of male douchebaggery, instead of feeling violated and enraged as I should have, I felt sad and alone. I had wanted him so badly, and now, when I should have immediately stopped wanting him, the only thing stopping me from pursuing him anyway was that I knew it was wrong. It wasn't that I didn't want him, it was that I couldn't.

That thought sent a wave of self-loathing over me, because what kind of woman is sad that some asshole fucked over not only her, but his wife? Women were supposed to stick together, chicks before dicks and all that jazz. Sure, I didn't know Rosalie Cullen, and I obviously didn't know what their marriage was like, but the fact remained; he was married.

So why couldn't I let him go?

Frustration overwhelmed me, and despite the alcohol and two joints shared with Lauren to 'help me calm down', my mind was still ticking overtime. What was it about him that made me want to sell out all of my values and long-held beliefs and go for him anyway?

When the package arrived at my house, I already knew who it would be from. It was going to be some thoughtless, expensive gift from the would-be sugar daddy that I wanted nothing to do with. It was a pretty package though, and so despite taking a baseball bat to it as I had originally planned, I slowly pulled apart the packaging. Inside, I found a series of bottles. Liquor bottles.

This gift was turning out to be surprisingly great.

Edward knew that I wasn't 21, and probably assumed that I'd want to drink myself into oblivion so that I wouldn't call his wife back and tell her what I'd been doing with her perfect Edward. He was trying to silence me. What an asshole.

I looked closer at the bottles, then realised that there weren't just bottles. There were two martini glasses, two shot glasses, two peaches, and a bottle of expensive looking vodka, some peach schnapps, some fresh orange juice and cranberry juice. How odd. I looked over the items again, trying to work out, in my still slightly stoned haze exactly what their significance was. There was also a bottle of very familiar-looking tequila and a few cheap beers. I just couldn't figure it out. I saw a note wedged into the contents and hoped fervently that it would aid me in figuring shit out.

_Bella,_

_I know what you're thinking. I'm a total asshole, a creepy 31-year-old guy looking for some young girl to fuck around with while my wife sits at home. As clichéd as it sounds, it's not like that, I promise you. I know you may not believe me, but there is more to my story than you know. _

_The gifts were intended to show you what I feel like when I'm with you. The liquors make Georgia peaches, the first drink we ever had together, and the tequila and beer as the exact ones we drank at the Laundry House on that second night. With you, it's not about money and fancy drinks and pretension, and you give me a breath of fresh air that I'm not sure I can get by without anymore._

_When I'm with you Bella, the mundane life I'd become so accustomed to melts away, and I really don't want to have to lose that. I know I was wrong to hide something like that from you, and I can't expect you to forgive me, but if you were willing, I would love an opportunity to explain myself, if I could._

_I don't want to lose you, and even if we can just remain friends, you are someone that I want in my life. If you're open to the idea of talking to me, please meet me at the diner near your house on Sunday morning. We'll get pancakes, because I know you love them, and talk about this._

_Yours,_

_Edward._

I looked over the contents of the box once more, realising that it would have been a lot cleverer for me to have read the letter before rifling through it. It made perfect sense now. Somehow, he had managed to deduce exactly how I was feeling, and his thoughtful gift, the symbolism behind it, and his sweet words made me feel so much less used. Conversely, they made me feel appreciated, wanted, and valued.

_He's married._

For some reason, I kept allowing that thought to slip to the back of my mind. Regardless of how lovely and sweet he was being, I had to remember that he had kept something hugely significant from me, and had been intending to cheat on his wife, although he hadn't done it yet. That made me wonder, when he'd rejected me the night before, was it because he wouldn't cheat on his wife?

He had told me that he needed time to tell me something, and that he couldn't sleep with me until I knew because it would ruin things. Had this, his marriage, been what he was referring to? It seemed that he was an adulterer with a heart of gold. He didn't want to deceive me about deceiving his wife. That made me smile selfishly, because he had put our budding relationship above his marriage. I could only assume that their marriage was a weak one if he was with me at all, let alone putting me first.

My mind was rationalising at record speed. I wanted him too badly to turn away, and if I was honest with myself, I would have probably folded regardless of the gift and letter. Really, I hadn't even been properly angry. I had gone straight from feeling sorry to myself to being ready to forgive him. I was weak, but I couldn't help it. The pull to him was simply too strong.

I stood up, walked to my room and pulled out the scrap of paper I had scribbled his number down. Despite deleting it from my phone in my initial melodramatic reaction, I had found myself unable to cut myself off from him completely.

I typed out a text message to him, not hesitating at all before pressing the send button.

**E – Hey, do you think we could meet tonight instead? – B**

Moments later, I received a response.

**B – Of course, name your time and place. – E**

I told him that the spot he had picked would be fine, and gave myself two hours to get organised and decent, because there was no way I was going to look bad for this conversation. Ok, so I probably should have left some time before meeting with him, given myself a chance to script some questions, but honestly, I just fucking missed him too much. I wanted this cleared and dealt with, so that I could either walk away or we could move forward. I was desperately hoping for the latter.

* * *

Fairly confident I had pulled off a look that said 'oh, I just decided on a whim to meet with you, I was already dressed and looking this fabulous hanging out at home,' I walked the two blocks to the diner, running 10 minutes late deliberately. I saw Edward through the glass, looking absolutely glorious as usual. I don't know he managed to look just as good in a flannel shirt and jeans as he did in a Hugo Boss suit, but he needed a medal or something. Or his parents did.

I entered, and as soon as I came into his line of sight, he stood up. It was obviously an unconscious thing he did that I noticed because I don't think I knew any men who were that gentlemanly. Everything he did made him even more special and appealing and impossible to resist or stay angry at, it was infuriating.

"Hello, Bella, you look gorgeous. I'm so glad you agreed to come and see me," he said, the mere sound of his voice making me less stressed. Looking at him and hearing the compliment almost made me forget that we had a serious issue to deal with before I leapt into his arms and smothered him with kisses. I kept my expression smooth and distant, because I certainly didn't want him knowing how truly weak I was. I simply nodded to him in greeting and took my seat opposite him in the booth he had chosen, which I noted was the same one from the first time we had been here. Before, I may have thought it was a coincidence, but now, knowing more of Edward, it was most likely anything but.

We took our seats and I looked at him expectantly, waiting to see what he was going to say for himself. He sighed and then spoke.

"Alright… so, I was planning on having a whole weekend to plan out some kind of speech, but when you suggested meeting tonight, there was no way I was going to wait two whole fucking days to see you." I had been expecting a sorry, but his honesty disarmed me and I found myself smiling a little despite some serious effort to maintain my disinterested façade. Luckily for me, before he could say anything else adorable and charming, the waitress, who I had never seen before, came over, intent to take our order. She actually licked her lips while she looked at Edward, curling a strand of oily black hair around her finger, the nail of which was chewed to a stub and had a small amount of chipped purple nail polish on. He looked away from her at once, focusing on the menu instead. I couldn't contain my snicker at her slutty behaviour, and despite keeping his eyes firmly on the paper before him, I saw a smirk burst across his face, which only made it harder for me to contain my laughter. She shot me a glare and then walked away, leaving us both chuckling. It felt nice to laugh after 24 hours of stressing and overreacting.

After our laughter subsided, our eyes met over the table.

"Edward," I started, because I knew that if I didn't we would dance around the topic for eternity, "I thought… I thought that we could have had something, and then I found out that you had a wife, _from your wife_. I just don't know what to do here." He ran his fingers through his hair, and my hand twitched to replace his. I stayed strong though, not belying my weakness, instead knotting my hands together and resting them in my lap.

"I don't know what to tell you, Bella, I know what an asshole I've been about this, but honestly, I'm too selfish to let you go. I met you that first night, and I just couldn't stop myself. It wasn't even that I just wanted to fuck you, I wanted to know you, to be around you. I regret hurting you, more than you know, but I don't regret pursuing you at all.

"I never thought I would be that guy, the one who breaks his marriage vows and goes for someone else. I was raised better than that, I _know better_ than that. But you came barrelling into my life, and it felt like I was being pulled to you, almost as though it was out of my control. I was powerless to stop it, and I didn't want to stop it.

"My life is this hollow shell of obligations and bullshit, but when I'm with you, all of that falls away. I am married to my father's best friend's daughter, she lives upstate in a big house on her own, lunching with her vapid, pastel-wearing friends and fucking our gardener. I didn't even really care before, I just went through the motions of my life blindly. I worked, I socialised when it was required of me, and I did what was expected, turning a blind eye to how meaningless and devoid of any real substance my life was.

"Then I met you. You're amazing, gorgeous, funny, clever, and I feel like you gave me a breath of fresh air in a life that was suffocating me. I know that doesn't justify deceiving you, and I want you to know that I'd never, _ever_ use you for revenge or anything malicious like that, but I want you around too badly to let you walk away from me. I know I've only known you a week, but I feel like… I need you."

I thought over what he said. Coming into this, I truly had no idea how he was going to justify his actions, but his words had made me pity him, which surprised me greatly. Living a life with a woman he didn't love, who was cheating on him, and only existing to satisfy obligations put on him by others, it all sounded so sad. My hand twitched again, wanting to make contact with him, the draw so powerful it almost felt like I was being pushed by some invisible force. I held strong, needing to get everything out in the open.

"I can't believe I'm saying this… but for some reason, I'm… I'm ok with that. It's not the easiest thing in the world to cope with, but I need to know a few things first."

"Sure, ask me anything."

I steeled myself, knowing I may not get the answers I wanted, but needing to ask anyway.

"Have you… cheated on your… on her before?" the sentence was almost impossible to get out, and the wife part was impossible.

"No, absolutely not, I promise you," he replied immediately. That made me feel ever so slightly better.

"Are you still sleeping with her?" he sighed, clearly not wanting to answer the question. I waited for his response, although I already knew it wouldn't be good.

"I slept with her on Monday morning."

Ouch.

I had nothing to say to that.

"I'm sorry Bella, but I had spent the weekend with you, and I was scared, and overwhelmed, and completely unsure as to what had transpired with you. In a moment of weakness, it happened, and I wish it hadn't, but I can't take it back now." I almost laughed at the idea that he was apologising to me for sleeping with his wife. That brought me to my final question, possibly the hardest one.

"Edward, why are you still with her?" He sighed, looked down, and his hands started moving, fidgeting with no real rhyme or reason. He looked so innocent and lost, it made my heart go out to him. I wasn't sure how he had pulled it off, but I was now feeling like he, rather than I, was the victim in this situation. Crafty, gorgeous man.

"I've been thinking about that a lot myself of late. I'm not really sure I can give you a satisfactory answer. My family… they are part of a very tight-knit group, and whether I like it or not, Rose and her family are a part of that clan. If our marriage was to fail, I'm not sure what would happen. I love my family very much, and don't think I could bare to disappoint them like that. I know Rose is cheating on me, although I'm yet to catch her red-handed, but she seems intent on playing the role of perfect couple, and it works for us.

"Honestly, Bella, our marriage has done us a lot of favours over the past four years. In the circles Rose runs in, her marriage, the blending of our families, gives her position of esteem, places her at the top of the food chain, so to speak. Having said that, she isn't the only one who benefits from our façade. The partners at my firm absolutely adore Rose, and think that even though I'm young, my commitment to her shows that I could commit to them. It makes them take me more seriously. I know how callous that sounds, that we would use each other that way, but… it works for us."

I looked down at the table, a little awed by his revelation. In my mind, marriage was associated with a consuming love, something so strong that you felt the need to define yourself by another person, attach yourself to them in every sense, take their name, share their home, merge your life with theirs in its entirety. I simply couldn't fathom the idea that you would remain married to someone because it made people think higher of you. I couldn't stop the next question that bubbled up.

"Did you ever love her?"

"I did." I waited, still looking studiously at the table. He said nothing else. Eventually, I looked at him, and he must have seen the curiosity in my eyes, because he grudgingly continued.

"When I first met Rose, it was easy. We were friends, we used to laugh together, she was laid back and... cool. We'd been brought up the same way, and we understood each other. While we didn't have any real intensity, we were both reaching marrying age, and I believed that she was a woman I could be with in the long run. I just thought she was above the bullshit that we'd been surrounded with all our lives.

"Once we married, things began to change. She was swept into the socialite world, and the girl who used to spend a whole weekend taking apart and putting back together an engine in ripped jeans was gone. In her place was a woman I didn't know. This woman cared only for talking about others, wearing expensive clothes and asserting herself as being above everyone she was around. At first, I thought it was just a phase, but then we grew apart to a point where I didn't even really want to reconcile our differences. She found Emmett, I bought the city apartment, and our lives became what they are now. We go to each others functions, play the roles, but our marriage is entirely hollow.

"I know this sounds like a sob story, some ploy to make you feel sorry for me. I can't really explain it properly, but I'll give it a go. After a life of getting by, of blindly moving through my obligations, I met you, and I felt like I had been electrocuted. Suddenly, I was hyperaware, and happy to be that way. I know how selfish it is, and I would understand if you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to try. I couldn't let you walk away without knowing I did everything in my power to get you to stay, despite what an asshole I am."

Ok, so now it was my turn.

Actually, no, one last question.

"Is she the reason you wouldn't sleep with me last night?" My ego had to know.

"I just didn't want to do something like that with you until you knew the whole story. You have no fucking idea how hard it was for me to walk out that door, but I couldn't do it to you." I couldn't stop the small smile that escaped at his words.

Ego satisfied.

The skanky waitress returned with food and we both looked down at our meals without touching them. The girl, who I bet had a name like Kimmy or Chastity or Stripperella skulked off, clearly unhappy with the amount of attention she received. He said nothing, clearly awaiting my judgement. I took a few moments to gather my thoughts, to no avail, and so just opened my mouth, hoping the right thing would come out.

"Edward, there is a part of me that wants to slap you across your face and tell you to go back to your wife. But there is a bigger part of me, the selfish part, who wants you too badly to do what I know is probably the right thing to do. In truth, the rest doesn't really matter to me a lot. The one thing I ask is that… well, I know I have no right to ask this…" God I was making such an ass of myself.

"Bella, I'm not sleeping with her anymore. I don't want her, I want you."

The sceptical part of me was horrified that I was buying into this so easily. I just… I wanted him, and apparently, he wanted me too. He wasn't the lecherous sleaze that I had assumed him to be, and I was just so happy that he was the good charactered, charming man I had met in the club a week earlier. The relief that coursed through me overcame any feelings of doubt I had, and when I couldn't stop the smile that crossed my face when he told me that he only wanted me.

"I want you too, Edward."

His returning smile was magnificent.

**AN: Poor, naive little Bella.**

**Just for the record, I know how sloppy I've been with replying to reviews, so now I'll make my pledge. If your review has a question in it, I will respond with an answer. Even though I'm lazy, self-indulgent and a borderline alcoholic at age 19, I will make time to reply to your reviews. Because I love you guys.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: 2 posts in 2 days! God I'm good to you guys. Here's the sad news, I'm moving tomorrow and not sure when i'll have internet again. Hopefully i can find some, or steal some from an unsuspecting neighbour and get more to you, but if not, I'll miss you all!!!**

**Ok so I just read ****Carpe Noctem & Fiat Lux**** by queenofgrey and the ending made me physically ill. Absolutely amazing read, and it's finished, so suss that out. Absolutely… wow.**

The Teddy Bears - Yours To Keep

**Edward POV**

Bella and I ate together, talking happily about everything and nothing. I didn't mention Rose again, and neither did she, although I think she knew that I'd answer any questions she had. I wanted Bella to know everything about me, and if there was any information that would make her feel better about being in this shitty position with me, I would give it to her completely willingly.

I honestly had no idea how the situation had turned out as well as it had. Miraculously, she had accepted that I was a fuckwit who had handled things abominably, and she still wanted to be with me. I made it my mission to prove to her that she was the only one that I wanted, and that I was serious about giving what we had a proper chance, which, tragically for me, meant that I couldn't drag her into the bathroom and fuck her right then, despite really, _really_ wanting to. She was wearing this torn up tank and ripped jeans paired with what looked like a really old leather jacket, and she looked absolutely fucking stunning.

More than just her looks, her tiny mannerisms had me completely riveted. The way she'd brush her hair back after she laughed, how she chewed her lip when unsure of what to say, the way her big brown eyes widened when I complimented her, when I caught a flash of her scent as she flicked her hair or leaned forward. Every thing about her lured me in. What little sense of decency I had left prevented me from undermining my words about wanting her deeply by fucking her, but I was hanging on by a thread.

Bella reached for the bill that the world's sluttiest waitress had just delivered before I could get to it. I growled lowly under my breath, because there was no way, especially after what I had done, that I was going to let this woman pay for her meal, let alone mine. She poked her pink little tongue out at me, and then opened the leather folder only to burst out laughing, dropping the cheque to the table as she did so. I reached out and snatched up the folder, poking my tongue out at her in revenge. I opened it up to see a business card stapled to the cheque.

_Chastity McClean_

_555-0349_

_Call me, it'll be worth your while._

As forward as it would, it wouldn't have seemed too deserving of Bella's hysterics, if not for the background on the laminated card, which seemed to be the woman's cleavage. I dropped the folder myself, absolutely disgusted by what I had seen. I looked up at Bella, who was still paralysed with silent laughter. Eventually she managed to collect herself.

"I knew," she gasped out, "I knew as soon as I saw her that she would have a name like Chastity. _Who would print something like that?_" With that, she burst into another round of laughter. Luckily, the girl in question had gone out the back and had not seen Bella's or my response to her advance. I tucked a bill into the folder, without looking at the card again and placed it back on the table.

"Oh hell no," Bella argued, and I thought she was about to dispute my paying for us, "I am keeping that, Liam will _die_ when he sees it." She reached over and pulled the card off the bill, sliding it into a pocket on the outside of her bag. Still laughing a little and shaking her head, she stood, looking back down at me and indicating I should do the same. As we moved to the door, the waitress emerged from the back.

"Thankyou," she called, looking right at me. I looked away.

"No," Bella responded as her giggles started again, "thank _you._"

I couldn't contain my own chuckle as she said that to the confused looking waitress and we emerged onto the street. It was dark now, and I saw Bella recoil slightly against the cool wind that had set in, tucking her hands into her jacket pockets. I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she huddled into me, trying to get some body heat. I certainly didn't mind her closeness, leaning into her and breathing in the smell of her lovely hair. As we slowly started making our way back to her apartment, I used my free hand to light a cigarette, which we passed between us as we walked.

"So, Bella," I started, breaking our companionable silence, "what are you doing tomorrow evening?" She looked up at me as she took the cigarette, taking a leisurely drag before responding.

"Well, Liam wanted me to go to some club with his friends, but we could grab an early bird special before, if you like?" she teased. Bella just loved making old jokes, mainly because I couldn't respond. Her jokes about me being old were cute, but if I made any about her being young, it came across as creepy.

"Actually, I wasn't offering, I have a backgammon tournament on that I've been looking forward to for months," I deadpanned. She laughed and I smiled at the sound.

"If you want, you can come out with us," she offered shyly, looking up at me from under her thick eyelashes. We had arrived outside her building and I came to a stop, angling her so that she was standing two steps up, our faces almost level. Her hands moved to my shoulders and mine to her waist.

"Are you sure, princess?" I asked, not wanting to intrude on her night, but wanting to hang out with her.

"Of course I'm sure," she smiled softly as she spoke. "Come here at about 8, and we'll have some drinks then go out. Liam already loves you because you're so fun to look at, and I'm sure the others will too," she joked.

"Well I suppose I'll have to let him ogle me if it makes him like me," I sighed dramatically.

"You should be used to people ogling you by this point, so stop whining."

"Why would I be used to it?"

"Um, have you ever looked in a mirror?"

I smirked. Her eyes narrowed.

"You're thinking about that time I said you looked 23 and hot, aren't you?" she accused.

"Maybe."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't let go of me, so I knew I wasn't in any real trouble. Just to be safe, I changed the subject.

"Do you need me to bring anything tomorrow? Buy you guys beer or something?" I teased and she smacked my shoulder.

"Pfft, I'm more than charming enough to get my own liquor," she shot back.

"I'm sure you are," I said lewdly as I leaned back to look her up and down. She smacked my shoulder.

"That was so creepy," she admonished. I laughed.

"Have _you_ ever looked in a mirror, princess?" I asked her seriously.

"Ha ha, very funny," she dismissed. I looked over my shoulder to see a cab dropping someone off at the building next to Bella's, and sighed as I attracted the drivers attention with one hand.

"I should probably get going," I told her and her face fell slightly but she nodded. She softly pressed her lips to mine, and I revelled in it.

"I'll see you tomorrow night?" she confirmed. I kissed her quickly before answering.

"8'o'clock, let me know if you need me to pick anything up." She kissed me then spoke.

"Just bring you, because you're cute, and dress casual, we won't be going anywhere too fancy," she instructed. Jeans and a shirt it was. I gave her one last kiss, this one more lingering than the others before pulling away, keeping only her hand.

"Goodnight, beautiful," I said reluctantly, squeezed her hand and then let it go, walking over the cab and reluctantly climbing in. I had less than 24 hours to go until I saw her again, and that time had never seemed so long.

I spent much of the next day busying myself with menial tasks, working out, getting obscenely ahead with my work, and on the phone to the lesbians going over what had happened. They were both a little gob-smacked, for two reasons. The first was that I didn't call them before I met with Bella, and the second was that she responded so well to what I had told her. Irina tried to tell me that our conversation had been incomplete and that there were still things to be said, but I cut her off, because I didn't want a dampener on my phenomenal mood.

While dressing for the evening, I found in the back of my wardrobe something that brought a smile to my face. An old leather jacket that I had had for about 15 years and had been sure Rose had disposed of. I shook it out and pulled it on, pleasantly surprised to discover that it still fit almost perfectly. I checked my appearance quickly before I left, decided that I didn't look like too much of a douche bag, and headed off.

**B - Leaving now, do you guys need anything? - E**

**E - No, everything's great, there's more than enough of everything. See you soon! - B**

I jumped on the subway because it was still early and I had some time to burn, and made my way down to Bella's. I was buzzed in by an already drunk Liam from the sounds of things and made my way up to their apartment. Waiting for me, cocktail in hand, was the drunken gay man I had conversed with briefly only moments before, leaning in the doorway, eyeing me in an almost perverse fashion.

"Bella, you whore! He wears _leather?_ I hate you!" he shouted before refocusing on me. "Hello Edward, your jacket is magnificent, almost as good as your hair. Your t-shirt could stand to be a little tighter, more for my benefit than for anything else. Sorry, I'm a _teensy_ bit hammered," he told me matter of factly and all I could do was nod. He pushed the door further open, allowing me to enter but not without brushing past him on my way in.

I walked through the door to find a group of about 5 people inside. Liam, two other presumably gay men, a couple, and I assumed Bella would be around somewhere. I looked around for her, and then I heard it.

"_There's a place down town, where the freaks all come around, it's a hole in the wall, it's a dirty free-for-all!" _

I turned around to see Bella dancing to a song I hadn't heard before, and didn't think really gelled with the rest of her music collection, rather in one of the clubs that I could imagine Liam and his friends frequenting. She had her head down and her knees bent, moving her head and shoulders in time with the beat. I took a moment to look at her and nearly fainted at what I saw. She was wearing this long tank-top style dress that just covered her ass with a jacket… and a pair of thigh high suede boots that made me think I'd have an erection for the rest of my days. Her long hair flipped around her head as she danced, a wild halo. She was perfection, and I felt the need to avert my eyes at her magnificence.

As if she could sense my struggle and wanted to make it harder for me, she flipped her head back, exposing her full outfit to me, eyes still closed as she continued to dance, her hands fisted in the air. The dancing wasn't overtly sexual by any means, she was simply having some fun with a group of people she was clearly comfortable with, and the sight was probably the most entrancing, attractive thing I had ever seen. Her dancing slowed and she opened her eyes, her face bursting into a gigantic smile when she saw me. Her eyes were lined with black, and her lashes looked longer than ever. She was stunning. I smiled back at her, unable to stop myself.

"Hello princess," I greeted as she made her way over to me, and her smile only got bigger. "Have you started the party without me?" I had to make a concerted effort not to stare at her legs as she approached.

"You look so, _so_ good in leather, Edward," she said, ignoring my question. Her hands came to rest on my shoulders as she ran her fingers along the leather in question.

"Cheers to that!" Liam yelled, holding his drink in the air as the other people in the room all clinked their glasses together. I was mortified, but tried to act as though I wasn't bothered. She used the hands on my shoulders to pull herself to me, and I wrapped my arms around her to hug her back.

"Believe me, Bella," I whispered in her ear, "I would say something about those boots, but nothing I can think of is even close to appropriate considering that we are not alone at present." She actually shivered at that. I kissed her earlobe and released her.

"I know that face!" Liam crowed as he pointed at Bella. "Little B over there was just told something dirty!" he howled, and the others laughed as she buried her head in my shoulder, hiding from their ridicule.

"Fuck you all, you're meant to be my friends," she chided them without looking up from my torso but I put a hand on her arm and rubbed it in a soothing gesture. Moments later she looked up at me, a smile on her face, and then flipped Liam off, with the same big smile. Everyone went back to their own conversations, satisfied that she wasn't really offended. Bella took my hand and led me into the kitchen area, passing me a six pack of something, as well as grabbing two shot glasses and a bottle.

"Come on, let's go in here for a bit," she said as she led me to her bedroom.

"Have fu-un," Liam sang obnoxiously, earning himself another one finger salute from Bella. Their relationship was like that of siblings, and it made me laugh, reminding me a lot of my relationship with my sister. Bella looked at me quizzically as I chuckled.

"What?" she asked.

"Oh, you and Liam remind me of my sister and I," I told her.

"Alice?"

"The one and only. She's actually a lot like Liam, except for the man part."

"Liam is a man in strictly a biological sense, in every other way he's a teenage girl, let me assure you," she joked, although I had no doubt there was some truth to her words. "God knows I love him to pieces though," she said affectionately as she took a seat on her bed, crossing her legs under her body. I moved to mimic her position opposite her, tossing my jacket on the seat-table thing at the end of her bed. She sighed.

"I really do like the leather," she said wistfully.

"I've had that jacket for the majority of your life," I told her honestly, and she giggled. She picked up a remote and pressed play, and music that I definitely would associate more with her moved through the room.

"This is the Presets, another one of my amazing discoveries," she said proudly. She flicked open two of the beers, which I realised were the ones I had sent her, as with the tequila.

"These look familiar," I said lightly, and she laughed to herself. She passed me a shot, held hers up, a movement I copied, and we threw them back, trying not to choke. Tequila was not a good starter.

"Ok," she said decisively, "drinking game… but which one? Dickhead poker with two of us won't end well, actually there aren't enough of us for a lot of them… we could do 20 questions, but if you can't or won't answer, you drink?"

"That sounds good to me," I agreed, unable to imagine what she'd ask that I would be unable or unwilling to answer.

"However," she qualified, "because you need to catch up, I will be drinking beer, and you, my gorgeous friend, will be doing shots." Before I could protest she was already starting the game.

"Ok, let's start easy. Question one, favourite female body part?"

"Legs," I said without even pausing to think. Specifically, Bella's legs in those boots. "Ok, favourite male body part?" I asked in return.

"Shoulders… oh, maybe abs… no, arms… but your hair… fuck it, I can't choose when you're sitting there, giving me so many options," she grumbled, and took a drink. I laughed.

"You really are drunk, aren't you?" I asked playfully, and she smacked my arm.

"Fine then, smarty pants, what's your favourite male body part?" she asked indignantly. I thought on it for a few moments.

"On me, or on another guy?"

"Another guy."

Well, shit.

"Bella, I don't have an answer for that," I told her honestly, accepting the shot. That meant it was my turn to ask.

"Your favourite place on a girl?"

"Boobs probably." My mouth fell open. "Actually no, I love collar bones on girls. They look really good." She smiled, seemingly satisfied with her answer, while I tried to flush out the mental image of Bella touching another girl's chest.

"My turn again," she stated and I braced myself for her question. "Ok, most embarrassing sexual experience?" I didn't respond, instead just drinking.

"Oh, come on!" she whined and I just shook my head.

"Not happening."

"Tell me!"

"Nope."

"I hate you."

"Liar."

She huffed but dropped it.

"What's your's then, Bella?" I asked. She looked down, then took a mouthful of her drink.

"Exactly," I said smugly.

By the end of the game, I had consumed about 6 shots, and was feeling a very pleasant buzz through my system that I was sure I would regret tomorrow. I set my shot glass on the floor and looked at Bella.

"Hi," she breathed.

"Hey."

With that, she forced herself up onto her knees and smashed her lips to mine, a kiss that I returned with equal force. I pushed her backwards, so much so that I found myself on top of her, supporting myself with one arm as my free hand traced up her leg, under her dress and was caressing the skin of her hip, tracing the line of her underwear. She moaned quietly and her tongue came out to touch mine. Our kiss had an aggressive element to it, and her black painted fingernails came to rest on the muscles of my back, pulling gently at my shirt as she scratched at my skin. I pushed at her blazer and she lost it, leaving her in her dress, which was now sitting around her waist, and those fucking boots.

Her pulling at my shirt became more insistent and I allowed her to pull it off, barely noticing as she tossed it to the ground and wrapped her arms back around me. Her fingers pressed into the skin of my shoulders as I pushed myself even closer to her. Small sounds were coming from both of us, heavy, jagged breaths and little whimpers escaping her mouth. They spurned me on, and paired with the tequila clouding my gentlemanly impulses, drove me to the brink of insanity.

She shifted her hips, subtly, or not so subtly tilting so that my hand was just a small movement away from her core. I moved it slightly lower, testing her response, only to hear her groan and tilt her hips further, an invitation if ever there was one. I ghosted a hand over her clothed pussy, trying not to smile at the way she leaned into my touch. Her kisses were becoming weaker now as she focused on what I was doing to her, so I lowered my head to her throat, allowing her breath. I started to rub my palm against her through her panties and before long she was grinding against me, her little hands clawing at my exposed back.

I pulled away from her throat, wanting to look at her face. Her eyes were clenched shut, her head thrown to the side as she held onto me with one hand, and fisted her other into her comforter. I wasn't even really doing a lot to her, but her responses were driving me absolutely wild.

"Look at me, princess," I requested, my voice sounded rough, gravely even. "I want to see your pretty eyes," I implored. She moaned, rolling her head back over and forcing her eyes open. The moment she had them open, they threatened to drift closed again. She looked absolutely stunning, her hair falling wildly around her head, her eyes glazed over as she lost herself in sensations that _I _was giving her. I had always enjoyed sex, I was of course a man, but just watching Bella get off, without me even properly touching her, was one of the most sensual experiences I had ever had. I increased my pressure on her, knowing full well that if I got into her panties, we wouldn't be leaving this room for days.

"Edward, fu--", the word died in her mouth, but the breathy way in which she forced out my name was almost unbearably alluring. Keeping my eyes trained firmly on her, I pressed my lips back to hers, capturing a moan that escaped in my mouth. I increased the speed of my rubbing, and was rewarded with her body tensing, moving closer to my own. She just looked so fucking good like this, in those boots, writhing against my hand, getting pleasure from me. Even though I was painfully hard, this was all about her. Her face moved to the crook of my neck, and I could feel her hot breath in between small kisses that she pressed to my shoulder. She was so inadvertently sexy, she had absolutely no idea the effect she had on me.

"Hey guys, are we ready to -- Whoa!"

I immediately stopped my hands movements and looked over my shoulder to see Liam, keys in hand, standing completely awestruck in Bella's now open bedroom door.

"Holy shit, of course he looks better out of the leather than in it," he said before his expression turned to fear somewhat inexplicably. "I knocked like, 3 times," he rationalised, terror clouding his tone. I looked back at Bella, who looked absolutely livid, and if I hadn't been so pissed off myself, I may have laughed at her.

"Well… we're just going to go…" he trailed off, slowly backing out the door.

"No," she said, catching his attention, "wait, we'll come."

"I bet you will," he shot before he clamped his hand over his mouth, seeming to have not realised what he had said until he'd said it.

"Not fucking cool, Liam. Just give us 2 minutes to… fix ourselves and we'll meet you in the lounge room to go." He nodded and closed the door. I sighed and rolled off her.

"Do we have to go?" I asked, trying not to sound like a sulking child.

"Yeah, we do, he'd have kicked my ass later if I'd ditched. Just know this. You are going to get it later, and that is a promise." Her voice sounded like she was threatening me.

I groaned.

"Bella, how the fuck am I going to get through this night with that information under my belt?"

"It won't be the only thing under your belt tonight," she said, smirking evilly as she threw my shirt at me.

God, I hoped not.

**AN: The song Bella dances to is Take It Off by Ke$ha. Let me assure you, I wouldn't have picked anything by her if it wasn't perfect for what I was envisioning. Trust me on that.**

**The song they listen to in Bella's room is called This Boy's In Love by The Presets, an aussie outfit that fucking wins. I have seen them four times, and they are absolutely amazing. Epic. Awesome. Actually, if you listen to this song, tell me, and I'll give you a shout out next time around. I'm super cereal.**

**Love love!**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Ok, so it's about damn time, right? **

**Miss me? ****I've missed you girls (and guys if there are any of you out there) like crazy! We have so much to catch up on! Fill me in!!! Let me know in your reviews what you've been doing this year… After you read the chapter of course. **

**Ps. Rpattz in details magazine… amazing. Seriously, whoever was behind that shoot deserves some kind of medal… or a statue built in their honour.**

The Strokes - 12:51

**Bella POV**

I rolled over the next morning only to smack into a mound of flesh, and confusion took me momentarily before settling into lazy satisfaction. Edward was lying beside me, in a fairly substantial state of undress. I groaned as a wave of nausea hit me, and launched myself out of bed over to the bathroom, just making it before I expelled the contents of my stomach… all fluids. No wonder I was feeling so ghastly. Not to mention it was an obscene time of the morning. Well, 9am wasn't that bad, but when your memory gave out some time around 3, it seemed a lot worse than it was.

I cleaned my teeth and removed my makeup, something I probably should have but was in no state to do the night before. I berated myself for getting too drunk to have sex with Edward, but by the same token, I was glad that I hadn't because I wasn't sure I would have remembered it in the perfect detail that I wanted. I grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge before returning to my room. Edward was awake now, barely, rubbing at his closed eyes while moaning quietly, apparently suffering as much as I was. I cleared my throat and one eye opened, quite a humorous expression, and I passed him a bottle of water. His face lit up with gratitude.

"Oh thank you…" he trailed off and drank half the bottle of water in one attempt.

"You're welcome," I assured him as I crawled back into the bed and started on my own bottle. After we had both replenished our systems somewhat, he snuggled back down into the bed. I turned to face him and he extended his arm, an invitation.

"Come here," he murmured, "we're sleeping some more."

I lay back down and he pulled me to him, flinching at my cold feet, which made me giggle before I succumbed to sleep.

Three hours later I awoke to find myself alone in bed. Feeling a little miffed that my guest had abandoned me I got up, pulled on a shirt of Liam's that I had stolen and a pair of ankle socks and stumbled out into the kitchen, still feeling a little drunk. I could smell Liam's special Sunday Morning Hangover coffee, the expensive stuff that only really came out when we were in dire need of it. He and Edward were sitting at my dining table, both appearing showered and neat, talking quietly amongst themselves, with no hint of a sexual advance coming from Liam. I was a little shocked, and found myself even more surprised to see Edward wearing a clean shirt. There was no way he and Liam would have been the same size, so I had no idea where he'd gotten it from.

"Hey, baby," Liam greeted, "get coffee, it's over there." He nodded to the coffee machine. "I was just talking to your man candy here, as it turns out, his parents and mine are friends, what a small world!" His voice had an almost gleeful tone, as if having something in common with Edward was the best thing in the world. I poured myself some coffee then headed over to the table. Edward pulled out his chair and gestured towards his lap. I look a seat on him, a little smug at how easily we went together. Liam gagged.

"You two are repellent, and it is way too early in the day for me to be seeing this shit, so I am audi," he sang before leaving the room. His Clueless reference was lost on Edward.

"Audi?" he asked.

"Outtie, as in leaving," I clarified.

"Oh," he said, still looking like he had no idea at all. I laughed and pinched his cheek affectionately.

"You're cute when you don't get basic pop culture references," I said teasingly.

"You're cute all the time."

"Even when I'm one foot in the grave from a hangover?"

"According to you, I'm one foot in the grave all the time, so I'm used to it."

"Awwwww, there there, I'll kiss your bruised ego all better," I cooed before pressing my lips to his.

"Happy now?" I mumbled against his mouth.

"Not yet," he murmured, swivelling me so that I was straddling him and deepening our kiss. His hands came to rest on my bare thighs and I sighed into his mouth at the feeling of his skin on mine. I pushed closer, so much so that our my centre was almost rubbing against him, wanting the contact desperately. I pulled away, almost gasping for air.

"How about now?" I managed to choke out before his lips attached themselves to my throat.

"Getting closer," he whispered against my skin, bringing up goose bumps. His hands moved around to my ass, pulling me even nearer to him, our hips bumping as I got as close as I possibly could. I rolled my hips down and his breathing hitched against my neck, confirming that I was rubbing against him in all the right ways.

I had wanted Edward to a ridiculous extent the night I met him, and at this point, I was about to go insane and maul him, consequences be damned. I could only hope that he felt some semblance of the attraction I felt for him, otherwise he was going to get molested, because I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. the growing hardness I could feel against me seemed to indicate that odds were in my favour, making me smile as my head lolled back. We were interrupted by Lauren stumbling through the front door, heels in hand. I immediately lifted my head, trying to make my position look less whorish, a difficult feat. Edward sighed, dropping his head to my shoulder, and I put my hand on the back of it, running my fingers through his hair in a silent apology.

"Do I smell the good -- oh, hey Bella… and man friend," Lauren said condescendingly. As a general rule, whenever we caught anyone with a male guest in the house, we made a point of making it as awkward as we could. As much as I liked doing it to the others, I had to admit, I wasn't really enjoying it when the tables were turned on me.

"Hey Lauren, this is Edward," I introduced him, and he lifted his head to smile at her and then waved. She nodded in greeting and he dropped his head back down.

"Holy shit," she mouthed, "Hot."

"I know," I mouthed back, unable to keep the smug smile off my face.

"Hit that?" she asked silently.

I frowned dramatically and shook my head. She shrugged in disappointment and moved to the kitchen to grab coffee. I returned my hands to Edward's hair, giving him a gentle massage until she was safely out of the room. I tugged a bit harder, pulling his face back up to look at me.

"I hate my room mates," I told him honestly.

"To be honest, right now I do as well," he confessed, and we laughed lightly.

"It may have been a good thing that Lauren came in, because I really don't think it would have been wise to continue that much further in a public thoroughfare, and if we'd kept going, I doubt I would have been able to stop myself," I admitted. He groaned.

"Bella, hearing you say things like that doesn't help me at all, it just makes decency even more challenging," he whined and I giggled.

"Sorry," I said insincerely and climbed off his lap, missing the contact immediately. He sighed, ran his hands through his hair and stood, pulling his phone out of his pocket and fiddling with it for a moment.

"I should probably head off, I'm supposed to be seeing my sister and nephew for lunch," he said, somewhat sadly.

"Alright," I said, trying to keep my irrational devastation out of my voice. I must have failed because he took my hand in his, clearly a comforting gesture.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" he asked.

"Nope, just hanging out here, there's no way I'll make it through another big one after last night," I said teasingly.

"Do you want to come hang out at my place then?" he offered, and I actually had to stop myself from squealing with joy that he was inviting me over.

"Yeah, sounds fun. It's probably a lot nicer than our little landfill," I said deprecatingly, my eyes darting around our cluttered, messy home.

"I like your place," he responded, "it has so much… life."

"By life you mean bacteria, right?" I joked.

"No, not at all. Your place feels lived in, it's a home. Most places I find myself in feel like museums or display homes, not places where people actually live," he explained.

"Oh," I said, a little awed by that revelation. "Well, I'm glad you like it, I guess," I mumbled awkwardly, to which he responded with a melodious laugh.

"Alright, well I'm having lunch with Alice in the village, so I can swing back down here and pick you up if you want," he volunteered, ever the gentleman.

"No, no, text when you're nearly done and I'll come and meet you up there," I suggested instead. He looked a little hesitant, but agreed. He kissed me goodbye, grabbed his phone and keys then walked out of my door. As soon as he was out I flounced over to the couch and collapsed into it, smiling hugely to myself. The man was heavenly. Liam, having heard the front door close, re-emerged from his bedroom and sat on the couch adjacent to mine.

"I knew I knew him from somewhere! He looks just like his dad, all strong features and lickable jaw line, but his father is blonde, and more or less the definition of a DILF. Speaking of liking to fuck, I am so, so sorry for cockblocking you last night, babe, I really didn't mean it." The apologetic expression on his face assured me that he really was sorry for interrupting.

"Don't worry about it," I told him, smiling. He smiled back impishly.

"It wasn't even worth my while, I barely saw anything," he playfully sulked. "What little I did see was pretty enjoyable though, I'm not going to lie," he added.

"Tell me about it," I said, half to myself as the memories flooded me.

"Bella…" he started, sounding uncharacteristically nervous and breaking my out of my sexy abstraction, "I'm not sure if you know this, but I feel like, as your friend, I have to tell you." I was a little worried now. Liam rarely took anything seriously, and when he did, it was usually a very big deal.

"Alright," I said warily, "tell me."

"Edward is… well… he's married." I sighed with relief. Although I really didn't like hearing about the one flaw Edward seemed to have, I was glad that there wasn't some new problem to deal with.

"I know that, Liam," I told him and he looked confused.

"And you're with him still?"

"Yes, there is a lot of crap surrounding that situation and after we talked about it, I decided that I still wanted to pursue something with him." He opened his mouth to speak, and I cut him off. "Believe me, I know how bad that sounds, but Liam, I've never… I don't think I can walk away from him, and as much as this situation makes me angry and sad, I want him too badly to just leave, this is unlike anything I've ever felt." My best friend looked at me, his eyes full of sympathy and pity.

"Well… is he going to leave her?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, I know that he's unhappy, and that things haven't been good for a long time between them. They haven't lived in the same house for about eighteen months, he rarely sees her, and even then its mostly for functions and events. He said that their marriage is basically for show, it does them a lot of favours in their social and work circles. She's cheating on him as well, and has been for some time. I know that doesn't make it acceptable, and I know how tawdry and clichéd the situation is, but I just… Liam, I can't leave him. I can't." I was pleading for his acceptance, desperate for someone to talk to about this, someone to tell me that I wasn't the devil.

He climbed off his couch and immediately joined me on mine as I huddled into his arms, tears sliding down my face as the gravity of my situation overwhelmed me. He held me in silence as I cried it out, rubbing his hands up and down my back, trying to calm me. Eventually, I got it all out of my system and started to calm down. I had needed that outlet a lot more than I had realised. I was only 19 for fucks sake, and this was a pretty intense thing for me to have to be dealing with, regardless of my age. What I knew to be right and what I wanted more than anything were conflicting in an unprecedented way, and as much as I tried to act like I was thinking things through, I was already well aware that I would remain with Edward, regardless of whether or not he left his wife.

"I think," Liam started, his tone gentle and inoffensive, "you need to talk to Edward about his plans with his wife. Maybe not the next time you see him, wait til you're ready, but really, you're entitled to that information. If he has no intention of ever leaving her, it will make an impact on your relationship and where you can take it. Clearly, he's very into you, otherwise he wouldn't be risking it, and that aside, when the two of you are together, it's almost sickening. You radiate this vibe that is undeniable, and I really wouldn't be surprised if his heart beat your name."

I knew what he was doing, he was trying to make me feel better, pull me out of my spiralling depression, and I had to admit, it was working. Knowing that he could see what I felt, the bond that was forming between Edward and I, made me feel a lot more validated. I hated to admit that, but ultimately, I was insecure. Edward was so far out of my league, he was gorgeous to an almost uncomfortable extent, successful, clearly wealthy, funny, clever and completely beguiling. Everything about him appealed to me.

And by some twist of fate, he wanted me. Wanted me enough to risk his marriage, to chance his very reputation to get drunk and make out with me, to be visually assaulted and verbally harassed by my gay best friend, to be repeatedly cock blocked by my room mates. It felt like I had won the lottery, and however long this man hung around, I was going to get as much as I could of him, enjoy his presence as much as possible. The more I got to know him, spend time with him, the more I was sure that he would be the pinnacle of my dating career.

Feeling much better after having spoken to Liam and vented my issues, I was hit with a wave of creativity. I darted into my room, pulled on some clothes, picked up my camera and spent the next two hours wandering around the area, taking pictures and enjoying the pleasantness of the day. On my way back to the apartment to get ready for my evening with Edward, my phone chimed. I slid it open and smiled gleefully at the message.

**B - Just so you know, tonight's invite included a sleepover, so pack a bag. I definitely owe you a couple.- E**

**E - You don't have room mates do you? - B**

**B - No, why? - E**

He knew exactly why, but I decided to play into his game regardless.

**E - I'll show you later. - B**

**B - Can't you just tell me now and show me later? - E**

**E - Even though I can almost see you doing the puppy dog eyes, no. It's much better in the flesh than in words. - B**

**B - I have no doubt. - E**

**E - ;) - B**

**B - That's just cruel. - E**

**E - I'm anything but cruel. Talk to your sister, you're being rude. - B**

**B - Yes, ma'am. - E**

I laughed to myself but didn't reply to his text, because I could only imagine what his sister would say if she found out he was sending innuendo-laden texts while sitting across the table from her and her son. I pulled myself together and threw a toothbrush, a fresh top, a couple of toiletries and some clean underwear into my big tote bag, and went through some of my photos on my laptop to pass the time. A short while later, I received another text.

**B - Hey, we're nearly done here, want to head over? - E**

**E - Yes, ma'am. - B**

**B - Very funny, princess. - E**

I grabbed my bag and headed out the door, my desire to see him truly over the top considering it had only been about three hours since I had been straddling the man in my kitchen.

15 minutes later I was approaching the place where he had elected to meet me, only to have my face light up instantly as I saw him, facing away from me and fiddling with his phone, which seemed to be a habit of his. I snuck up behind him and tapped him on his left shoulder before turning away from him. He tapped on mine and I turned back around to him, feigning surprise.

"Oh, hey… I didn't see you there!" I said in a ridiculously innocent voice, which he of course saw right through.

"Sure you didn't, gorgeous," he muttered as he leaned down to kiss me. I accepted his choice of greeting enthusiastically, barely remembering that a sidewalk was not an appropriate place to pounce on him.

We walked close beside each other, our shoulders almost touching, and he subtly took my hand, linking our fingers, which surprised me a little. He saw my hesitation at once.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, loosening his grip on my hand, clearly reading my concern as unwillingness to be affectionate with him. He couldn't have been more wrong.

"I just wasn't sure that you'd want to be seen with me… like that, in public," I mumbled, not liking that I had brought this up. It was a topic I would happily never broach it again if I had my way.

"No one my… no one she knows would ever come this far downtown, we have nothing to worry about," he soothed me, and I felt simultaneously better and worse.

"In fact," he continued, "that is precisely why Alice, my sister, moved here, to get away from all the bullshit that accompanies being a Cullen, particularly one that lives on the upper east side. My parents would never approved of Jasper if you couldn't see from a mile away that he absolutely adores her. In his eyes, the sun would fall out of the sky if she ever left him. It's sickening, but in a good way, you know?" I nodded, ecstatic that he was sharing information about his life and family with me. It made me feel a lot less like a tacky mistress to know that he really was interested in getting to know me, and me getting to know him. It was a small thing, but it meant the world to me.

We continued wandering down the sidewalk, and even though I knew we were heading in the general direction of his home, I was also sure that it was well out of walking distance. I didn't say anything though, enjoying our leisurely stroll far too much to put a stop to it. Eventually, he hailed down a cab and we climbed in, heading off. I was abruptly nervous, because I suspected that I wouldn't even come close to fitting in in his high end, lovely environment, and I really didn't want to do something stupid like break something or ruin his carpet or something stupid. Living in a house full of junk meant that it didn't matter if we ruined something, but with Edward's home, it was a completely different story.

I knew how ridiculous I was being, but I couldn't help it. I just didn't want to do anything that might make him realise how below him I was. Somehow, by some fluke, he still felt like I was worthy of his time and attention, and I didn't want to fuck that up. The cab pulled up at a gigantic, regal building, and the butterflies in my stomach started launching canons at each other. He greeted a rather sullen, mean-looking doorman and guided me to the elevators, keeping me at a respectable distance the whole time. It stung a little but I understood it was a necessity and it was something I would have to learn to deal with, and so let it go as best I could.

Once we were in the elevator he took my hand again, using it to pull me to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, smiling a little to myself at how effortless and comfortable this all seemed, despite the huge obstacle we were up against, and the fact that we'd barely known each other a week. Standing in his elevator, holding his hand, I knew that I had made the choice not to walk away, and that, if I had my way, I would never have to.

**AN: Cockblocked again. Don't worry my lovelies, you will get your smut soon enough. **

**In other news, over 200 reviews for 10 chapters. Seriously. You girls would give me a huge boner if I was equipped for that sort of thing. If you, or anyone you know is reccing my story, tell me and I'll rec ya right back. I'm super serial about this. **

**Also, there's this story I read ages and ages ago, it was hugely popular, and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called. E was a stripper/hooker, B was a pysch student who 'buys' him for two weeks to study him. Shout out to anyone who can tell me what it's called, I wanted to rec it to a friend but just can't remember. **


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Big thanks to starrlite16, mommymac0508, adt216, kneon, kirsaleigh, and everyone else for giving me the name of the fic! Even though it seems like everyone in the world knew it but me, it's called The Red Line by WnndSinger, in case you were curious.**

**Also, have any of you seen Franz Ferdinand live? Because i did this weekend, along with David Guetta and the Prodigy....... holy shit, i love music festivals. **

Bad Veins - Gold & Warm

**Edward POV**

Luckily for me, I had managed to get to the village only moments before I was due to meet my sister. If there was one thing that Alice did not tolerate, it was lateness, and she had been known to leave the place you were meeting her if you were more than 10 minutes late without a phone call offering an unbelievably good excuse. She believed that if you weren't motivated enough to meet her on time, then she wasn't motivated enough to wait around for you.

The maitre d guided me to the table she had booked, by the window as always, and I took a seat. Moments later, I heard her high voice cooing at someone and turned to see her carting in her beautiful son, my nephew Brandon. She set him up in the third seat at our table, resting his carrier on it before directing her attention to me.

"Edward, you look awful. Thanks for going to all the effort of showering for little old me!" she said sarcastically. "Really though, leather, Edward? How old are you, 23?"

I smiled, because that wasn't the first time I'd been asked that recently.

"Whatever Alice, I'll have you know that I did shower this morning, I just scruffed myself up purely to piss you off right afterwards," I told her snidely and she poked her tongue at me. I turned my attention to Brandon, who latched his chubby fist around my finger the moment I extended my hand to him. I jiggled his hand around and he smiled a big gummy smile that made me grin involuntarily in response.

"Well, even though you resemble a homeless man, you look… happy. And I suspect," she segued flawlessly, "that it has something to do with the photographer friend of yours who is now taking up space on my husband's office wall, no?"

I looked up from Brandon and into the knowing eyes of my younger sister. I wanted to groan. I truly had no idea how she worked this shit out, but she always did. She was constantly two steps ahead, and although at times it was very handy, right now it was the last thing I needed.

"How do you _do_ that?" I asked her, a little awed. "Have you been playing with the crystal ball again?"

She scowled. When Alice was 14, she convinced herself, and attempted to convince everyone else, that she was able to see the future. She learned the "art" of tarot cards, starting dressing like a gypsy complete with ankle length skirts and headscarves and would carry a crystal ball around in a bowling ball bag in case she ever got a "feeling" that needed to be immediately explored. I still gave her crap about it whenever the opportunity arose, which wasn't as often as it used to be, much to my disappointment. She had gotten very clever at avoiding any conversation that could set me up to mention it.

"No, _Edward_, why, have you busted out the Luke Skywalker costume lately?" she asked condescendingly.

"Fuck you Alice, I wore it to _one_ Halloween party. You were a 'seer' for almost a year," I shot back and she flipped me off.

"Stop deflecting by throwing my deep, dark, sandal-wearing past back in my face. Tell me about this girl," she commanded.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Honestly, I don't need you to tell me anything," she spat, "I can see it all over your face. You do remember that you're married, don't you? And you do know what your infidelity would do to Dad's relationship with Bobby? What it would do to our families?"

I had no doubt that all of her questions were rhetorical, and so let her get it out of her system, holding her eyes as she berated me. I knew that all of her comments were deserved, and probably pre-scripted by her to force me to think these things through.

"Alice, do you think I haven't thought about these things?" I asked her when her nostrils had unflared and her breathing had quietened.

"Then why the H-E-L-L are you doing this?" she questioned, glancing at her baby as though he could understand her cussing unless she spelled it out.

"Alice, he doesn't even know his name, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't know if you swore."

"I don't want his first word to be a curse word, I'm sorry if it's an inconvenience to you," she snapped. "Stop being so evasive. You cannot do this. You can't."

"Alice, it's done. I've thought this through and I'm unwilling to stop it. I don't want to. Why can't you just stay out of it?"

"Because what you're doing is wrong!" she cried, causing the people at the next table to look over. She exhaled heavily before continuing. "I know that your situation with Rosalie is far from perfect. But if you're sinking to her level just to get even, you're a lot more childish and stupid than I thought you were."

"I am not sinking to her level, although I'm thrilled you think so much of me," I snipped at her. I knew she would be judgemental about Bella, but I didn't think she'd be so juvenile and close-minded about it. I tried to calm myself, knowing that getting angry with her would not help my case at all.

"Alice, I didn't mean for this to happen. I saw her and it was… it was like she was glowing, right there in a room full of people, like a beacon. It wasn't choice, it was necessity. I couldn't ignore her.

"I can't explain to you what it feels like when I'm with her. All the bullshit, everything about my life that I can't stand, all the obligations just melt away. Yes, she's young, as I'm sure Jasper told you, and I know it's not fair on any of the people involved, but I can't give her up. She's become too important to me. I know you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, and I'm not asking for your assistance or even your blessing, simply a little understanding."

I had laid it all out on the table. There was nothing more for me to say, she had to make her choice. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a few moments, seeming to deliberate over my words. When she opened them, they were much softer than they had been, and I relaxed slightly.

"I do have an idea what you're talking about," she told me in a quiet voice and then sighed again. "I know, because that's what I feel when Jasper walks into the room." And with that I knew that I'd cracked her. As much as she believed in marriage as an institution, and held very strong views about infidelity, there was one thing that she believed in more, and it was soul mates. Luckily for me, I had inadvertantly tapped into that part of her mind, and I knew that although she may not agree with what we were doing, she would withhold her pessimism around me.

"Thankyou," I told her fervently.

"Don't think I'm ok with this, because I'm not," she clarified. "However, I do know what it's like to feel that pull to someone, like gravity. It can't be helped, and no good would come of you denying it. My issue comes purely from the fact that you are still _married, _Edward. You have to leave her, and then pursue this Bella. I would never, ever tell you to abandon what you've experienced with her, because you'll only have it once, but I don't think you've really thought this through."

"Alice, it's all I think about," I argued.

"Have you considered that aside from what you'll do to Rosalie and your family, this will put a huge blemish on your relationship with the girl?"

"Bella knows about Rosalie. I told her, and we sorted it out. She's not a victim in this situation, she's an active, equal participant."

"Why haven't you left Rose yet?" she asked. Alice was not one to beat around the bush. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

"I… I don't know, to be honest. The marriage has done us both so much, with my job and her… whatever it is that she does." Alice smirked at my dismissal of my wife. "Carlisle and Esme would be devastated, as would Bobby and Deidre. I want Bella, so, so badly, but I just can't figure it out."

"So what, you're going to wait until she leaves you for the pool boy?" she asked scathingly. I didn't bother correcting her on his occupation.

"I'm surprised she hasn't yet, to be honest. I think she's in the same position I'm in."

"Rosalie Hale does not have a soul mate," Alice said confidently. "She doesn't deserve one. You need a soul for that."

"Look, I will leave her, but I just have to time it, work out when the best way to do it so that it causes the least damage."

"So you're pussying out, waiting for her to do it?"

"No, Alice."

"Sure."

"Shut up."

She flipped me off again. I smirked at her and she smiled back, and I knew that the storm was over. The waiter chose that moment to come and take our orders, and without so much as a glance at me, Alice ordered for us both. After the waiter departed, I looked at her curiously.

"Why did you order for me? Trying to predict what I was craving, oh wise and omniscient sister?" I joked. She smiled mischievously.

"Nope, I just felt like two things," she shot back and poked her tongue out at me. I simply shook my head, not at all surprised.

* * *

Standing in the elevator with Bella hours later, I was inexplicably nervous. She had so willingly let me into her exciting, spontaneous lifestyle, and I was worried that she would see how boring and stuffy my life really was and that she would get bored. The majority of the time, I barely remembered that we were so different, but there were moments where I worried that I was falling for her dangerously fast. When I thought back on my 19 year old self, there was no way that I was in any state or inclination to attach myself to someone. I was impulsive, childish and completely self-involved, spending my days at college hitting on girls, getting drunk and dabbling in mild drug use in between my studies. I worked hard, but I definitely played harder.

I was well past all of those behaviours and tendencies now, but only because I had had the opportunity to get them out of my system, to learn the follies of such a lifestyle. Although Bella's life was anything but sheltered and boring, I wondered if she possessed any of the traits of my nineteen year old self, and if being with someone like me, in such a different place to her, would eventually drive her away.

I knew that Bella wasn't a lot like me in my youth, she was a charming, clever girl, a genuinely good person, but she was still a young girl. I didn't want to encroach on her freedoms, to limit her experiences. I couldn't even offer her my whole self, and so I had to be extra careful that I didn't take anything from her, considering there was so much I couldn't give as it was. The logical part of me recognised that she must have felt something for me, or she would not have hung around in the face of my significant shortcomings, but she was quickly becoming one of the most important people in my life, and I did not want to do anything that would lead to her removal from it.

The elevator dinged, letting me know that we had reached my floor. I pulled her out of the lift and down the short hallway, stopping at my door. I unlocked it and opened the door, holding it open with my free arm until she'd walked through. She moved very slowly, taking in her surroundings and my nerves escalated significantly.

"Edward… you said you liked my place right?" she asked, somewhat strangely.

"Yes, of course I do," I answered promptly.

"Want to swap?" she asked playfully, a smile lighting her gorgeous face.

"You're welcome to come over any time you want, princess," I told her as I took her face in my hands and kissed her. I let her go, keeping her hand as I pulled her through the house, giving her a tour. I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible in my apartment, and by the end of the walk through, she seemed much more at ease.

"So, what do you think?" I asked.

"I don't… Why are you hanging out with me, at my crappy apartment with my noisy, annoying friends when you could be here?" she asked, genuine curiosity in her voice. She looked a little… downtrodden. I pulled her down onto a couch so that I could talk to her. She looked down at her legs. I wasn't used to seeing her so unsure, she looked the most childlike I'd ever seen her. I had a feeling that this wasn't about the apartment anymore.

"I want to be where you are," I told her honestly.

"But… why?"

"Bella, you really don't see yourself properly do you? You're gorgeous, charming, clever, talented, wise beyond your years and mine half of the time." She smiled weakly at my joke. "You calm me down and put me on edge at the same time. You're unlike anyone I've ever known, and I'll be a happy man as long as you want to keep spending time with me, no matter where we are or what we do." the next thing I knew Bella had crawled into my lap, straddling me and I was looking up into her striking brown eyes. I brushed her hair back from her face as she spoke.

"You're such a sap," she said affectionately, "but I think I like it."

With that, she leaned down and pressed her lips to mine, gently, but with a confidence that was nowhere to be seen just moments earlier. I took some solace in that, that maybe my words had made her feel a bit better about this situation we were in. She kissed me once more before leaning slightly back and reaching down to remove her top. She pulled it off herself, shaking her hair out around her shoulders as she tossed it away. Mesmerised by her, it took me a second to respond, leaning up and pressing my lips back to hers fervently. My hands moved to her waist, gripping at the skin there and pulling her even closer to me.

Our movements became increasingly frantic as I pulled at her waist, clutching her to me. Her hands found my hair, as was her way, settling at the nape of my neck and pulling my head back. She sat up, so much so that my head was almost completely tilted back, and my hands moved to her ass, wanting to feel as much of her under my hands as possible. This honestly wasn't why I invited her over, but I certainly was not going to reject her advances.

Abruptly, she stood, extending her hand to me, which I took, a little confused. She started jogging ahead, turning around, looking at me and biting her lip as she ran. With that look on her face, I would have followed her straight off a cliff, she had me completely hypnotised. Moments later we reached my bedroom, and before I knew it, she had used the hand of mine she had been holding to manoeuvre me to the end of the bed, facing towards her. She started moving towards me and I sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to anticipate her movements but failing miserably. She was so damn alluring, she clouded up my mind and I was powerless against her. She waved her hands and I understood their meaning, shuffling back up the bed. She crawled on and positioned herself over me, tugging at my t-shirt which I promptly removed.

Truthfully, I was a little surprised by her forwardness. Having said that, I don't think I had ever in my life encountered a happier surprise. She sat back, resting on her shins over me, and unsnapped her bra, revealing a whole lot of glorious flesh that I had not seen before. She pulled it from one side and then the other before tossing it purposefully onto the floor while I watched, entranced. Smirking devilishly, she leaned down and kissed me again, pulling back from me the moment my tongue touched her lips. She leaned down again, but rather than kissing me, darted her own tongue across the crest of my lips before quickly pulling away again, smiling the whole time. I would have none of that.

I repositioned my hands, moving one from her ass to her back and the other slightly lower to her thigh, then used them to flip us over. She squealed, the girlish sound that was a huge deviation from her wild, confident behaviour only seconds earlier. I went to kiss her, and then pulled the same move she had, instead running my nose up from her chin, grazing her lips and then running it up her own nose. She groaned, clearly frustrated.

"Not so funny anymore, is it princess?" I teased her, my voice slightly ragged. She simply groaned again, shifting her hips and sufficiently distracting me from all plots of revenge.

"Please, Edward."

I finally had her, underneath me and begging, as I had fantasised from the day I met her. The feeling overwhelmed me for a minute and I leaned back, taking it in. She moved her hips against mine once more, and I forgot about everything other than the girl before me. I kissed her forcefully, allowing how much I wanted her to radiate through my movements as my hands moved to unbuckle her pants. As soon as I had them open she lifted her ass, allowing me to pull them down her legs, and she kicked them off herself once they were at her knees. This left her completely naked save for a pair of lacy blue panties that I was so fond of I almost considered letting her keep them on, before remembering that what was under them was infinitely more appealing.

Her hands got my jeans unbuckled and she shoved them down in a movement that belied her eagerness in its speed. It was a bit of a relief to know that she wanted this almost as badly as I did. I trailed my lips from her mouth down her chin, following a straight line of wet kisses down to her bellybutton. I took my time, enjoying the feel of her hot skin against my lips, the sounds she was making in response to my actions. Everything about her was absolutely magnificent.

"Fuck, princess, you are too much," I ground out against the smooth, sweet-smelling skin of her stomach, unable to hold my comment in.

"I _love _when you call me that," she moaned and I smirked. I slid my lips back up, stopping at her cleavage to commit every detail of it to memory. I ran my lips lightly over her skin, grazing each mound of flesh before sucking her left nipple into my mouth. She arched her back up towards me, her positive response egging me on. As if my own selfish desire to make her completely mine wasn't enough.

My fingers hooked around the edge of her panties as I continued lavishing her chest with attention and she lifted her ass again, helping me to remove them. After I pulled them down and she slid them off the remainder of the way with her feet, one hand returned to gently rub her right breast and the other remained on her thigh, my thumb tracing an absent pattern across the skin, edging up at an agonisingly slow pace.

Her fingers tugged at my hair, pulling my head back up to her own and reattaching our lips. Her tongue pressed against my lips, and I welcomed it, revelling in the feel of it moving against my own in languorous strokes. My fingers edged further up, my ring finger brushing against the deliciously smooth skin of her bare centre and she shuddered slightly under my touch. Taking that as positive reinforcement, I gently cupped her, pushing my palm against her, delighting in the muffled mewling sound that escaped when did so.

I pulled my hand away from her, then ran two fingers up the length of her slit, feeling the wetness that had escaped. When my fingers brushed past her clit her body twitched up, so I repeated the motion. I continued my rubbing only to have her detach her mouth from mine, her breathing ragged and heavy. Her eyes were open but rolling slightly back into her head and her chest was pressed up, her spine arched and her head thrown back. I focused my kisses on her neck as I continued rubbing her.

"Holy… E--… please," she choked out, her voice a tiny whisper in the muted light of my bedroom. I deduced from her incoherent mumbling that she wanted me to continue, and so increased my pressure and speed on her clit. My ego was swelling, aching for me to see if I really could make her come by rubbing her with two fingers, nothing more. Her breathing became even more broken and her right hand fisted into my comforter, and I rejoiced in the signs that she was approaching her release.

I pressed wet kisses along her throat, eventually moving to her ear, biting her lobe and kissing the spot just below.

"Come on, princess, let it go for me," I cooed to her, and she nodded, seemingly unable to articulate a response. I rubbed a little faster, pushed a little harder, and felt her body start to quiver underneath me.

"Ah-- I… Oh my… shit… Edward!" she cried as her whole body tensed, her legs bending at the knees and her hand flying from my hair to her own as her whole body started shaking and convulsing. I continued my movements, listening intently as my name twisted into a moan, which then lowered to a series of quiet whimpers and then heavy breathing, locking it all into my memory. Eventually, her hand dropped the handful of her hair she had been clutching and came to rest on my shoulder. My face was still pressed into her neck, feeling her chest rise and fall as her breathing regulated and I finally slowed down my rubbing, bringing it to a complete stop.

Much to my surprise, I heard a quiet, breathy giggle. I looked up to see Bella with her head on the pillow, eyes closed and laughing to herself.

"What's funny, gorgeous?" I asked, genuinely curious as to what she was laughing at.

"I'm sorry," she got out between tiny bursts of melodic laughter, "that was just… wow. My arms and legs are all tingly, and that was… I've never…" she widened her eyes, "like that before."

"You've never _what_ like that before?" I asked.

"You know," she wheedled. I almost laughed myself. She was too shy to say it.

"No, beautiful, I don't."

"Fine," she huffed, playful annoyance in her voice, "no one has ever made me come like that before. Not even me. Happy now?"

"You have no idea." The image of Bella getting herself flitted across my mind for an instant, but I suppressed it, wanting to focus on the real thing in front of me. I did, however, resolve to see my vision play out in reality as soon as possible.

Moments later, her eyes fluttered closed.

"Do you need a sleep, Bella? All tired out?" I asked patronisingly.

"Just a tiny power nap before I rock your world," she mumbled, not opening her eyes. My cock actually threatened to abandon ship at her words, but, being the gentleman that I was, I moved the covers back and let her snuggle into them, pulling her into my arms and trying to will away the erection that was threatening to drive me insane, bribing it with the promise that it would definitely get what it wanted before the night was through.

**AN: Sorrysorrysorry, but the chapter was getting waaaaaaaay too long. Never fear, even sexier times are not far off. You'll enjoy the pending BPOV though, I promise.**

**Ps. Do any of you watch true blood? Second sexiest vampires out there, no lie. That Erik… yummers. The books are pretty good as well, featuring the literary smut that Twilight was so sorely lacking.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Ok, Eclipse trailer? May or may not have jizzed myself. Also, i saw Mickey Avalon last night, and he was absolutely amazing in his coked out, drunken, white trash glory. Any Mickey fans out there?**

The Rapture - First Gear

**Bella POV**

I woke up in Edward's bed, naked and feeling like a complete and utter bitch. After he'd given me an orgasm that put all others I had experienced to shame, I had just passed out. I could hardly believe it. I knew I could blame it on a lack of sleep from the night before, which, paired with the soul-crushingly amazing release, had completely depleted by body, but that was no excuse. Edward was lying beside me, napping with a small smile on his face, still shirtless, much to my joy. I rolled over and started kissing his throat and collar bones until I heard a quiet groan signifying that he was awake.

"Hello," he said, his voice thick with sleep and sexy as hell.

"Hi," I mumbled against his skin, smiling at the very sound of his voice.

"You're awake," he noted, his hand coming to rest on my hip.

"I am, and I'm sorry for passing out on you there."

He laughed quietly.

"Not a problem at all."

"It's your fault anyway. You kept me up late last night with your incessant partying," I accused in between kisses to his torso, "not to mention you completely exhausting what little energy I had left with your magic sex hands."

"Firstly, as I recall I was ready to head home but you insisted on going to that last bar, so the lateness of our night was no ones fault but yours. Secondly, magic sex hands?"

I shrugged.

"It's the most accurate description I can think of." He chuckled again, using a finger to tilt my head up and then kissing me gently.

"As long as you never, ever tell Liam, I'll accept it," he offered and I giggled.

"He hardly needs me to come up with nicknames for you," I told him and he grimaced slightly.

"I really like the guy, he's nice enough and a lot of fun, but being called peaches and loverman by a gay man who's about 10 years younger than me is rather unsettling." I kissed him again.

"So you wouldn't mind if I called you peaches or loverman?" I questioned.

"Well… I probably would, to be honest," he confessed.

"I suspected as much," I said as my hand trailed down his chest, playing with the hair of his happy trail, although happy was most definitely an understatement.

"In other news," I segued, "I believe I owe you a favour," I told him as my hand slid under his boxer shorts, my fingertips grazing his length, feeling it harden slightly. He gasped lowly and kissed me again.

"You don't owe me anything, princess," he said quietly, although he didn't stop me.

"Fine then, I don't owe you, so I'll ask. Edward, can I take your boxers off? Pretty please?" I asked, my voice saccharine sweet. He looked a little dazed.

"What?" he asked.

"Can I please see your cock, Edward?" I asked slowly, pulling at his boxers as I spoke. He lifted his hips, wordlessly giving me the answer I wanted. I took my eyes from his face and finally looked on what I had been impatiently waiting for since the moment I met him.

"Shit," I said under my breath. He was magnificent. Liam would probably have murdered me if he knew that this was what he was missing out on. Most girls will agree that male genitals are not the most pleasant thing to behold, but the first word that came to mind when I laid eyes on Edward was 'pretty'. Unthinkingly, I trailed my fingers up the length, as though I needed to make sure it was real, and I heard his heavy exhale in response. I pulled my hand back, licking my palm, a movement that his eyes followed, before wrapping my hand around his length, stroking up and then back down. His hips arched up slightly, meeting my movement.

I kissed him again, welcoming his tongue into my mouth. A few strokes later he groaned quietly against my lips, and lust consumed me once more. I pulled away to talk to him, surprised at how ragged my own breathing had become.

"Condom?" I rasped out. He nodded, reaching towards his bedside table. He pulled the foil package out of the drawer and I took it from him, tearing it open with my teeth, a move Liam had taught me. I slid it over his length then positioned my body over his. I quickly looked back at his face, and seeing him as consumed with want as I was just bolstered my confidence. Finally, _finally_ I was getting what I had wanted since I had laid eyes on him that first night, and I was almost giddy with need for him.

I sank down, taking him in at a torturously slow pace, savouring the slight stretching feeling that underpinned the amazing electricity of all the anticipation and tension coming to a head at last. My head fell back as we were completely joined and I sat for a moment, just enjoying the sensation. A quiet but guttural moan left my mouth without a conscious decision to do so. After a little while, I leaned forward, catching his lips with my own as I began to move above him. Our tongues mingled as I slid up and down, his hips moving with me, meeting me half way.

As our movements quickened, our kissing declined, becoming less and less deep and passionate. Our lips remained attached though as we breathed raggedly into each others mouths, keeping every part of ourselves joined that we could. His hands rested on my hips, guiding my movements as mine trailed over his chest and shoulders, focusing on nowhere in particular. Quiet moans escaped us both, my whimpers and mewls blending with his deep but near silent groans and grunts, the sound egging both of us on.

Eventually, I became unable to support my own head, as engrossed in feeling as I was, and it fell into the crook of his neck. I pressed kisses where my mouth could reach and his hands trailed up and down my back as our pace kept steadily increasing. Just when I thought that the experience couldn't become any more arousing, he spoke.

"Fuck, Bella," he rasped, his voice deep and cracked, "so fucking…" He trailed off, but I knew exactly what he meant, nodding fervently against him in agreement.

"Yeah," I whispered back, my words being choked by a moan as he hit a particularly perfect spot. "It's just…" I seemed entirely unable to articulate just how good I was feeling in that moment, but I think he got it.

"I know princess," he cooed, confirming my suspicions.

I could feel myself careening towards the edge when one of his hands released my hip and came to rub my clit, intensifying the sensations I was experiencing even more. A high pitched moan, a cry that bordered on a scream came out of my mouth and I was a little shocked. Luckily, it was muffled by the skin of Edward's shoulder and didn't come out at its full volume, but I was sure he heard it. I attempted to express to him how good I was feeling, and failed miserably.

"Edw-- Fu… Oh my… I'm going --"

His pace further increased, my body above his but hardly moving, as caught as I was in the feeling. My body started tensing, a familiar sensation, but one that I had never experienced with this intensity. I had thought that Edward's hands were God's gift to women, but I was clearly mistaken. My stomach clenched, my thigh muscles tensed and my back arched. My hands, which had come to rest on either side of Edward's head, fisted into the fabric of his sheets as my body started shaking.

I cried out, the sound muffled somewhat by the skin of Edward's shoulder as an unprecedented pleasure coursed through my system. The sound was pitiful and desperate sounding, but there was no way I could have stopped it from coming out. Edward dropped his pace slightly, letting me ride out the overwhelming pleasure. I felt like I was about to cry, and my whole body sank into his as the convulsions slowed and my body started its slow descent back to Earth. I was absolutely sure that Edward was the best lover that I would ever know, and I was almost giddy as endorphins flooded my brain.

Edward flipped us over, placing me under him, and drove back into me with vigour. For a few moments my sensitive flesh could barely handle the contact, but the unpleasantness swiftly morphed back into pleasure as he shifted his hips a fraction. Less than a minute later, I was writhing underneath him, one hand in his hair, the other digging my nails into the skin of his shoulder.

He returned his lips to mine and I attempted to kiss him, struggling to do so with the amount of noise coming from my mouth. My guttural sounds and whining moans must have sounded completely ridiculous, but the primal part of myself, the part that was loving that Edward was making me his, had overridden my sense of decency and shame and as a result, I was wordlessly begging for him to keep going, to never stop.

I didn't have a lot of experience when it came to sex, being able to count the amount of times I had done it on my fingers. Sure, it had always been fun, enjoyable even, but never had I thought that anyone would make me feel like this from sex. It was a heady, intense thing, and as I threw my head back against his pillow. I almost felt dizzy. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, and both of our bodies were covered in a film of sweat from the exertion. It was primal, the most natural thing in the world, he was taking me as his, and when I felt his lips and teeth on my throat, leaving his mark on me, I smiled. As tacky as I thought hickeys were, I would take anything Edward would give me with a smile on my face.

When my body began tensing once more, I was a little shocked. It was even more intense than the first time, as though my body was both protesting and encouraging what Edward was doing to it. My fingers dug into his shoulders, holding him to me as I started shaking again, my legs twisting around his, desperate for contact. The feeling was bordering on unpleasant, so consuming that I was almost unable to deal with it. Choked cries left my mouth, my head pushed deeper into the pillow under my head and my whole body pushed closer to Edward's.

"Fuck, princess, you feel so good," he ground out, and the sound of his voice sent me flying off the edge once more. I clung to him for dear life, honestly believing in that moment that his body above mine was the only thing holding me to the earth. I yelled out again, a combination of his name and a low-pitched scream as sensation rocked through me, almost too much to bear.

"Oh my -- Edward… fuck fuck fuck, I--," I choked out before another cry overwhelmed the words. My entire body seized up, responding to an almost embarrassing extent. I dug my fingers into his shoulder blades, my torso lifting to meet his. He wrapped an arm underneath me, holding me too him, the warmth of his body against me only intensifying the sensation.

After what felt like an eternity but nowhere near long enough, the shaking started to stop, although I still held onto Edward, the contact with him soothing my tensed flesh. I tilted my head back up to kiss him, taking a moment before I did so to look at his face. His eyes were open and focused on me, a bead of sweat rolling down his perfect face. His features were slightly tensed, belying how close he was to his release. Our eyes locked for a moment, and despite my completely spaced out frame of mind, the gravity of the situation hit me. I was his now, it was undeniable, and he was as much mine as he could be, given his situation. Finally, we were together, and despite the obstacles before us, it was more perfect and amazing than I could ever have hoped.

Slightly overwhelmed by the realisation, I lifted my head even more, pushing my lips against his as forcefully as I could. Moments later, he groaned, a quiet but powerful sound and his body twitched slightly, and I knew that he had found his release. His pace slowed down as we both rode out the ends of our orgasms, and our lips remained constantly fused, exchanging kisses, their intensity slowing as we came down from our highs.

He moved off of me, disposing of the condom before pulling me back into his arms and then on top of his body. We lay there, kissing, as we both started to relax. My body was exhausted, but my mind ticking over time, trying to process what had just happened. It had been absolutely beyond anything I ever thought my body was capable of feeling, and I was completely giddy, my thoughts disjointed and nonsensical. Eventually, my thoughts overwhelmed me and a slightly hysterical giggle burst out against his lips. He pulled back slightly, confusion marring his lovely features.

"Laughing again?" he asked, making me giggle harder.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," I apologised, "I'm just so… I can't even think of a word, my brain has melted."

He smiled.

"And that is a good thing?" he clarified.

"Absolutely, it is," I confirmed, kissing him again. "Although I think I may have lost the use of my legs."

He laughed, a quiet sound that warmed my heart and slightly shook my body.

"I do what I can," he drawled arrogantly, making me laugh again. I kissed him once more, then rested my head down on his shoulder, letting my eyes drift closed. We lay there for a while until my stomach rumbled embarrassingly.

"I could feel that," he said, chuckling while I died a little inside.

"Shut up," I grumbled.

"I should probably feed you."

"But I like it here," I whinged, not wanting to get off him or leave the bed. Possibly ever.

"So do I, beautiful, but we can come back after I get some food in you, I promise," he swore, and I relented, climbing out of bed. Without thinking, I extended my arm to cover my cleavage and he smirked as he pulled his boxers back on.

"Shy, Bella?"

"I'm so sorry I'm not a fan of parading around naked," I said sarcastically. He laughed again and walked to his wardrobe, pulling out a button up shirt and handing to me, kissing me as I reached for it.

"We should work on that," he said, and I laughed as I rolled up the sleeves of the shirt and buttoned a couple of buttons. As we walked out of the bedroom, I chanced a quick glance into the mirror, somewhat satisfied that I had sex hair and not a rats nest on top of my head. We strolled through his breathtaking apartment, hand in hand, until we arrived in his kitchen, which was clean, modern and obscenely large for one person. I took a seat on one of the stools in the kitchen and looked at him expectantly.

"So," I asked, "what are you making me?"

"Whatever your heart desires," he answered grandly, before reaching under the bench. "By which I mean, whatever you can order off any of these menus."

"Can you cook at all?" I asked, a little taken aback, because I couldn't imagine that there would be something he couldn't do. His expression became sheepish.

"Not much, and not well," was all he offered. I laughed, a little more condescendingly than I had intended, and he looked away. I reached out for his hand.

"I'm sorry, peaches, I didn't mean it," I cooed and he grimaced.

"Please, _please _don't call me peaches," he pleaded. "Now, what do you want to eat?"

Half an hour later we were sitting on his couch, music I didn't know was drifting through the room, and his coffee table covered in far too much Chinese food for two people.

"You ordered way, way too much," I chided him gently.

"I know, but I couldn't decide what I felt like," he offered as an excuse. "And this way," he continued, "we can stay holed up here for days."

"That's a very good point, except that I have to work on Monday, as do you."

He reached out and effortlessly pulled me into his lap, making me feel somewhat like a rag doll.

"Fuck that, princess, let's just stay here," he murmured as he buried his face in my hair.

"Sounds good to me."

"Naked."

I was unable to hold back my giggle at the optimism in his voice. We sat like that for a while, me nestled into his lap, one of his hands running gently up and down my back, the other between both of mine. Oddly enough, following the most amazing, earth-shattering sex I had ever experienced, I had realised that Edward and I were about so much more than just the physical. We went together, fit seamlessly in every way, despite the rather formidable obstacles before us.

"I want you to meet Tanya and Irina," he said out of the blue.

"Who?" I asked. He turned me so that we were face to face.

"They're my closest friends really, and I'd like you to meet them. I work with Tanya," he explained. I smiled hugely at him. I knew without asking that his family was off limits to me, and although I tried not to dwell on it, I was touched that he at least wanted me to know some of the people who were important to him.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked.

"You."

"Is this another one of those giggling things?" he asked sceptically.

"Look, I'm sorry about that, but really, you strip me of all coherent thought and it makes me unable to express my feelings in any way other than giggling."

"A 'thanks' would suffice," he offered.

"Shut up."

I was blushing uncontrollably now. He smiled charmingly.

"Princess, don't be embarrassed. As much as it… caught me off guard at first, it's actually kind of cute." I blushed even more, digging my head into his shoulder so that he couldn't see.

"What's up?" he asked, placing a hand on the back of my head.

"I don't want to be cute," I whined and he laughed at me. Puppies tripping over themselves and children mispronouncing things were cute. Grandmas were cute. Cute sucked.

"Just can't take a compliment, can you?" he teased. I pulled back and scowled childishly. He laughed again and kissed my pouted lips. A couple of kisses later and my grimace had dissolved completely.

"What is this?" I asked, pointing up to ask about the music filling the room.

"Seriously, little miss music snob?" he asked, smug surprise crossing his face.

"Yes, seriously," I grumbled.

"This is Van Morrison."

"Oh, yeah, I know him." His smile got bigger.

"You don't, do you?"

"Nope. I like it though."

"So young," he said with a dramatic sigh.

"Are those grey hairs?" I asked, tugging on his hair. He pulled away.

"Not funny," he sulked, to which I giggled, happy at having evened the score. I climbed out of his lap, grabbing my iPod from out of my bag and plugging it into his expensive speaker system. The Rapture filled the room and I crawled back into his lap.

"Much better."

"How is this better?" he asked.

"Because I know it," I answered smugly and he rolled his eyes.

"It's always about the upper hand with you, isn't it?" he joked.

"I have to regain a little dignity after my giggling and general embarrassment earlier," I rationalised.

"That was more or less the complete opposite of embarrassing," he contradicted me. "The look on your face, your sounds and… actually, everything about that whole…" he gestured towards his bedroom, "has been hardwired into the very centre of my memory. You know how people refer to their happy place?" he asked, a cheeky look in his eye.

I nodded somewhat warily.

"That's my happy place." The cheeky glint had now transformed into an entirely mischievous expression that looked kind of hilarious and I laughed.

"Did you know that when you smile like that, your nose goes all crooked?"

"What?" he asked, looking a bit hurt.

"Actually," I noted, "it's kind of crooked all the time," I continued seriously, even though it was a complete lie. Every one of his features was absolutely perfect.

"Well," he said, a playful spitefulness in his voice, "your… lips," he stated as he looked over my face, "… are out of balance."

"What do you mean?!" I exclaimed.

"Your lower is really full, so when you pout," he paused dramatically, "it's lopsided."

I was horrified. I realised a moment later that my horrified expression involved something of a pout, and smacked my hand over my mouth to cover it. He burst out laughing.

"Baby, I was kidding," he cajoled, but I simply shook my head.

"Bella, take your hand down." He drew out my name with a pleading, almost whiny tone. I lifted my hand just enough so I could speak.

"No, I wouldn't want to scar your eyes with my deformed mouth," I said petulantly. He frowned and took my wrist, pulling my hand away from my face.

"I love your big," he kissed me, "pouty," again, "bottom lip" and once more, taking said lip in between his teeth and sucking gently before letting it go.

"You better," I said, trying to put some threat behind my voice. He laughed at me again.

"You keep laughing at me," I sulked, "it's not nice."

He wrapped his arms around my body, pulling me close against him.

"I'm sorry, gorgeous. I haven't been very nice to you at all. What can I do to make it up to you?" He punctuated his offer with a kiss to my neck. I tilted my head back so that he could reach a bigger area.

"Hmmm," I pretended to muse, leaning into him. "I'm sure you could think of something."

"I'm sure I can."

"Whether or not it's good enough to earn my forgiveness, that's the real question."

With that, he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder, making me squeal girlishly. He carted me towards the bedroom without another word, and though I was kicking my legs and struggling, I was willing him to walk faster.

**AN: Let's have a talk.**

**I am getting sick to death of people whinging about how Edward and Bella are in an adulterous relationship. I think that my summary makes that blaringly apparent, so you know what you're getting yourself into when you click on my story. If you're narrow-minded or ignorant enough to not be able to handle the content, don't read it. **

**Don't get me wrong, if you have criticisms or concerns thats fine, i love hearing what you think, but don't just send some (anonymous for the most part) review attacking my ideas and the story i've created. I'm proud of this story, and i'm not going to pander to your bullshit. **

**Long story short, i don't give a flying fuck if you think Bella is a slut and Edward is a bastard, and if that's what you really believe, please direct your head away from my story and even further up your own ass. **

***Sigh* I think that about does it for my grumpiness. I can't be bothered replying to all you whingers individually, so there you go. **


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: So On Wednesday night, i had tickets to see Gaga. Pre-drinks went horribly awry, i got alcohol poisoning and didn't make it. Luckily, i managed to get a ticket to see the show the night after, which was last night. And she blew my fucking mind. Not only did she put on the most amazing spectacle i think ive ever witnessed, but she announced that the fans who get drunk and pass out at her shows are the most dedicated fans of all. Therefore, Lady Gaga, i adore you.**

**Also, if i can't get RPattz, i'm totally going to marry Justin Tranter, the lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons. **

New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream

**Edward POV**

I was completely fucking exhausted.

Bella and I had christened more or less my entire apartment, some places more than once, throughout the evening. I would never admit it, but she had worn me out. We had slept on and off throughout the night, taking small breaks to regain some energy, but my body was still totally wrecked. I ached like I'd been working out all night, and in a way, I suppose I had. We sat quietly in my kitchen, eating pancakes that she had made because she was amazing and snickering when we made eye contact. Apparently, when she looked at the kitchen bench, she saw the same thing I did.

After breakfast, she went to shower, and I reached for my phone.

**T - I've got Bella here, and I want her to meet my favourite dykes. You free? - E**

**E - Sure, we'll bring the baby and you can show off your parenting skills. A girl her age has to be on the baby track, right?- T**

**T - Fuck you very much, and regardless, I have no parenting skills. - E**

**E - Of course you don't, you're a child yourself. - T**

**T - Delightful as always, but off topic. Stop lezzing out, get dressed and come to my house for lunch. Bring food. - E**

**E - Feeling a little militant are we today, Mussolini? - T**

**T - Got the moustache and everything. Want a ride? - E**

**E - Can I have Bella's number? I need to forward her something. - T**

**T - Ha ha. Come at about 3? We need sleep. - E**

**E - Is that what the straights are calling it these days? - T**

**T - I'm not going to tell you what we call it, but as a result, I may be in a wheelchair today. - E**

**E - Poor stamina, huh? How unsurprising. You're too pretty to be good in bed. - T**

**T - Says the woman who's never been penetrated. - E**

**E - Do you want us to come over or what? - T**

**T - Yes please :D - E**

**E - Food preferences? - T**

**T - Irina knows my preferences… for everything ;) - E**

**E - Conversation over. See you at 3. - T**

**T - Don't fucking embarrass me. - E**

**E - We'll make no promises. - T**

I put my phone down just as Bella walked back into the room, wrapped in a towel and with wet hair. She came to me and I pulled her into my lap.

"You smell like me," I said, more than a little pleased at the realisation.

"Well, yes, unfortunately you had little in the way of feminine-smelling beauty products."

"Don't get me wrong, I like it." I really did, some part of me loved it being blatantly obvious that she was mine, even if it was that her hair smelled the same as my hair. She smiled, the way she always did whenever I said something that bolstered her confidence about us. It was a smile that I had resolved to see as often as possible. I wanted her to be completely sure of her hold on me, and I would work hard to make her sure.

"Good," she said, the end of her word stifled by a yawn.

"Sleepy, princess?"

"The warm water makes me tired sometimes," she said, yawning again.

"Yeah, it'll do that. You know what else will? 16 hours of almost cripplingly amazing sex, but hey, maybe that's just me."

"Very true. I love your shower by the way."

"I love it too, especially after last night," I said, looking over her body as lewdly as I could. She shoved my shoulder in response, but the smile on her face reassured me that she didn't actually mind. I stood up, shucking her off my lap, surprising her a little. I extended a hand.

"Come on, back to sleep we go," I offered.

"Did I wear you out, old man?" she asked cheekily and I smacked her ass, eliciting a squeal from her that made me smile. After shooting down my request for ongoing nudity and pulling on some panties, she crawled back into bed, I wrapped her up in my arms and fell asleep again, completely contented.

I awoke what felt like minutes later to the sound of my apartment phone ringing, and I reached blindly for the phone by my bed. My doorman, Amir, informed me gruffly that there were two ladies waiting for me to send them up, and that they had been for some time, because I hadn't been answering my phone. I laughed under my breath at the accusatory tone in his voice; he sounded like a parent chastising a child.

I rolled over to see a gorgeous, sleeping girl beside me, pouting slightly. I kissed her lips a couple of times, feeling her mouth break into a smile when she was finally roused.

"Good morning, princess," I greeted her quietly before seeing the time on the clock on her beside table. "I mean, good afternoon princess."

"Hi," she said, her voice thick with sleep as she stretched out in the bed and moaned a little, mesmerising me temporarily. "As much as I enjoyed the wake up call, what's up?"

"Well," I started, abruptly nervous for some reason. I wasn't a nervous guy, but for some reason, she brought it out in me. "Tanya and Irina are on their way up, they wanted… to meet you, and I thought today would be good for it…" I trailed off as her facial expression quickly turned.

"What?" she asked, completely horrified and I balked. "I'm all sexhaired! I'm going to look like a total hooker!" she cried and I calmed down at once, realising that her apprehension wasn't about meeting them at all.

"Bella," I soothed, "they are going to adore you, believe me, even if you met them dressed as an actual prostitute. And your hair is gorgeous."

She leapt out of the bed with a scowl on her face, picked up her overnight bag and dashed into the bathroom.

"God I'm glad I brought a fresh top with me," she said. Just before she closed the door, she pointed a finger at me in a way I assumed she wanted to be menacing and growled, "can you buy me 5 minutes to de-skank myself? If not, your ass is grass, buddy." I quickly dressed myself in a black t-shirt with jeans and went to greet the girls, running a hand through my disgraceful excuse for hair in the hall mirror before opening the front door. There stood Tanya and Irina, the former holding Katie on her hip, the latter with two bags, presumably filled with food.

"Ladies," I greeted, laying on the charm to try and make up for their time spent with Amir. "Looking lovely as always." With a quick smile, Tanya pushed past me, barging into the place, as was her way.

"Hello Edward," Irina greeted me back, placing a hand on my arm as she followed her girlfriend. I brought up the rear behind them, watching as they made their way into the kitchen with practiced ease. The girls were some of the few people who I had actually brought into my apartment.

Tanya rapidly swivelled around, settling her blue eyes on me. Irina immediately moved to her side, orienting herself around her partner. They were more of a couple than most of the married couples I had encountered in my life, my parents and sister being the only other examples I could think of such a solid relationship.

"So, where is she? We certainly didn't come all this way just to bring you lunch."

"What do you mean, all this way? You live about 4 blocks from here. Apparently, she had to fix her hair and clothing so as not to look like a hooker when she met you."

They chuckled.

"Geez, Edward, what did you say about us?" Irina asked.

"Nothing," I swore, "just that you were my favourite people and that you wanted to meet her."

"Well of course she's nervous, dummy!" Tanya chided, not looking up from her cooing, happy child. I was confused. "You told her how important we were to you--"

"Which was very sweet by the way," Irina interjected.

"But you left out the fact that we're delightful, lovely, charming and won't be judging her like the rest of your vapid, shallow friends would be."

I sighed.

"Well, it's a bit late for that now," I said as I heard my bedroom door open and the sound of shoes clicking on floorboards, "please, _please_ be nice."

"Edward?" I heard Bella's quiet voice calling to me. With a warning glare at Tanya and Irina, I left the kitchen only to find her loitering in the hallway, looking a little frightened. She was wearing what she had told me were her happy heels, a pair of strange ankle-boot things that made her legs look amazing and apparently gave her confidence, which made it pretty obvious to me that she was nervous. As if her posture didn't give that much away. I couldn't help the quiet laugh, which she heard and scowled at me for.

"Come on, princess," I cajoled, extending my hand to her, "they're fine. They're going to love you. I'm the one who should be worried, because they're going to embarrass the living shit out of me if you give them the chance." She cracked a small smile at that and reached out to take my hand. Just as we reached the kitchen door I heard her take a deep breath, as if steadying herself, and I shook my head minutely before guiding her through the door.

"Bella, these lovely ladies are Tanya and Irina, and the little one is Katie," I said, gesturing to the women as I spoke. Bella's eyes widened a little as her eyes drifted over the three, but the rest of her face morphed into an easy smile that did not belie her nerves in the least.

"Hi, I'm Bella, it's lovely to meet you both," she said, her voice confident and relaxed. I had to admit, I was impressed with the way she was holding herself, especially after how terrified she had seemed. Tanya and Irina greeted her, Irina trying to mask that she was looking over the girl and Tanya making no effort whatsoever to cover it up.

"So," Tanya started, "you're the one that has our Edward running around like a headless chicken and daydreaming at his desk," she said speculatively. I just wanted to elbow the damn lesbian right in her ribs, and judging by the smug look on her face, she knew it as well.

"I don't know," Bella responded before turning back to me, "am I?" Tanya and Irina laughed and I groaned, smacking my hand over my face dramatically.

"And so it begins," I murmured ominously, making them laugh more. After a few more pleasantries and jokes at my expense, we moved to my lounge room from the kitchen. Katie was reaching out and fisting her hands towards me. The girl liked to tug on my hair for some reason, and if I ever rested her within arms reach of it, the very first thing she did was wrap her chubby fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck.

"Hello, beautiful," I cooed to her and she laughed and bounced a little in Irina's lap. Bella's eyes came to focus on the little girl and a smile spread across her face, that one that all women get when looking at someone else's baby. I reached out and Irina immediately passed her over, not stopping from her conversation with Tanya and Bella, which was about something that didn't interest me in the least, I think they were gushing over Bella's sparkly little vest. I settled Katie in my lap, facing me, her hands a safe distance from my hair. Bella leaned closer to me to catch Katie's attention.

"Who's this then?" she asked.

"This," I said, bouncing the child in question on my knee and making her giggle, "is Katie Denali." As if on cue, she made a grab for my hair and I leaned back.

"What is she doing?" Bella asked me quietly.

"She has a thing about grabbing my hair," I said with a wink. The two had that in common.

Bella blushed and glared at my implication.

"Hey," Tanya interjected, "no dirty talking in front of the baby."

"How do you know it was dirty?" I asked indignantly.

"One, because it's you and everything you say in a quiet voice is dirty, and two, because Bella is blushing like its 100 degrees in here."

I looked over at Bella, who's blush had only intensified, and laughed.

"Busted," I said, shrugging my shoulders with a cheeky grin. Tanya rolled her eyes and Irina laughed.

Bella extended a hand, which Katie took excitedly, clearly enjoying the attention she was getting. I glanced up to see Tanya and Irina watching us, Irina looking very pleased and Tanya pretending to gag. I glared at the latter and then directed my attention back to Bella and Katie.

"Who's your mommy, little one?" she asked.

"We both are," Tanya responded, her voice a little tense. Tanya was used to receiving a lot of prejudice and narrow-mindedness about both her relationship and whether or not they had the ability to adequately parent a child, and tensed up when people pried. Bella's eyes checked out for a second, as if she was processing the information.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "That makes me feel a lot better!"

The other women looked completely perplexed, as did I.

"Edward didn't tell me that you two were together," she explained and I abruptly realised that I had left out that detail. It was just so obvious to me that I never mentioned it to her. "So when I was meeting the girls who he describes as his favourite people in the world, and they're both absolutely stunning, it had me a little terrified, to be honest." She chuckled awkwardly as silence descended over the room. A moment later, both Tanya and Irina burst out laughing. Bella looked down, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, princess," I whispered to her, "I can't believe I didn't tell you that."

"It's ok," she whispered back, and as she leaned in, Katie shifted towards her, arms extended. Bella looked questioningly at Irina, who nodded, and then gently took the baby from my lap.

"Well," Tanya sighed dramatically, "we should get lunch organised. Edward, come help me out." The look in her eyes and the finality of her tone made it very clear that it wasn't an offer, it was an instruction so I groaned, squeezed Bella's leg in farewell and stood up.

Tanya ushered me into the kitchen, physically pushing even though the walk was about 10 steps. As soon as we were safely in the room and out of earshot, I braced myself for her verdict.

"Edward… I love her."

"Really? I asked, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice completely.

"Of course I do. Firstly, she said we were good looking," I rolled my eyes, "she's gorgeous, clever and funny. If I wasn't with Irina and I was about 8 years younger, I'd probably end up trying to steal her from you. I didn't think I'd be able to say this, especially so soon after meeting her, but I really do think she might be worth it."

"She is," I agreed fervently, a little overwhelmed at how easily Bella had won them over. I knew that Tanya and Irina thought more or less in tandem, and whenever one spoke, they were speaking for the other as well, so I was thrilled.

"Wait," I said a few moments later, "you don't _love her _love her do you?" I asked, putting fake suspicion into my voice. In a lightning fast move, she smacked me on the forehead before going back to assembling a salad.

Three hours later, we bid farewell to the lesbians, who had made plans to do lunch with Bella and stop by her gallery in the next week. When I asked if I was invited, I was told that I could only come if Bella brought me, to which she laughed heartily and said she'd consider it, but only if I was really nice to her.

"So," I asked as she helped me tidy up the remaining coffee cups and wine glasses littered around the places, "what did you think?"

"I really, really like them, Edward. I had to admit, when I first saw them and I didn't know they were gay, I was a bit panicked that your two best friends were such good looking women, but if they're together, I'm not threatened at all," she said confidently, making me laugh quietly. "Seriously though, they were great, and little Katie was adorable. I think I might just steal them from you, bring them into my social group instead."

"I have no doubt that if you tried, you'd succeed," I told her dryly as I took a seat on my couch. She dropped into my lap without a thought.

"Awwwww, there there, I won't steal your gal pals from you. I have Liam, I don't need any more girlfriends," she joked.

"I'm pretty sure I could steal Liam if I wanted to," I challenged.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure that you'd go to the necessary lengths to do it."

"Very true."

A short while later, she sighed and stood.

"I should probably be going, I do have to work tomorrow, and I didn't bring work-friendly clothes with me," she said, making no attempt to cover the disappointment in her voice. I stood up too, following her to the bedroom as she collected her things then walking her to my door.

"Do you have to?"

She nodded glumly. I kissed her frown.

"Really?" I prodded.

She nodded again. I kissed her.

"Are you sure?"

Nod. Kiss.

"And you're absolutely positive?"

"Yes, Edward!" she moaned. "You're really not making this easy for--" I cut her off with another kiss, deepening this one. Moments later, she had dropped her bag and her arms were around my shoulders as I pressed her against my doorframe. She pulled away, her breathing uneven.

"I really, really do have to go," she said as we both heard my phone start to ring from my bedroom, "and you have to get that, so let me go."

I huffed childishly.

"Alright, goodbye princess," I said ruefully, and with one more kiss I let her go. I jogged into my bedroom, hearing my front door close on my way and reached for my phone, groaning when I saw the name on the display.

"Hello, Rosalie."

"Well, hello to you too, Edward," she said cattily. "Try not to sound too excited. If it wasn't for me making this phone call, you could have been dead, for all I knew. Thanks for maintaining contact and letting me know what your plans were this weekend, I really appreciated you keeping me up to date." Her tone made me instantly angry.

"Calm down Rose, I had a lot of work to do, so I stayed in the city to catch it up. I didn't miss anything important, so will you just calm the fuck down?" I snapped, unable to deal with her bullshit today.

"I am your wife, Edward Cullen, and I do not appreciate being cursed at."

I rolled my eyes, hoping that she could somehow hear it. She sounded bizarrely like a school teacher when she used my full name in that tone, and her attempts to chastise me were not only ridiculous but completely unsuccessful. I sighed and tried to pull myself together, not wanting to make things any worse.

"What can I do for you Rose?" I knew she was calling for some purpose. She sighed, and I could tell she was trying to compose herself also before she made her request.

"Well, if you've paid any attention to the things I've been telling you at all lately, I am going away the Monday after next. I'll be in Europe with the girls," which meant Emmett, "for about a week, give or take. I've told you all of this already, but one has to assume that you wouldn't have listened, let alone retained the information."

She had me there.

"Now, I've given the staff that time off, seeing as I assume that you will stay in the city during the period that I am away." I barely stifled my laughter. The staff had gotten the time off because she didn't want it to look like she was giving Emmett special treatment when she gave him the time off so that he could go away with her. If only they knew the extent of his special treatment.

"Will do," I agreed, although an idea was already formulating in my head that was quite the opposite of me staying in the city the whole time she was away.

"Alright. Now that you're aware of my plans, I'll inform you as to _our_ plans. Because I'm leaving, Mommy and Daddy want to get the families together for dinner next Saturday evening, which means that I'll need you back here by 4pm." It was not a request, it was a command.

"Jesus, Rose, could you make it sound any less fun?"

"Sorry, Edward, I'm just trying to make sure you remember all of this. You've been all over the place this week. Remember Wednesday, we were supposed to have dinner? I just never heard from you. I assumed you're busy with work and what have you, so I just thought I'd be succinct and efficient so that you wouldn't forget me again." Her voice sounded forlorn, but underneath it was a calculated attempt to make me feel bad. I sighed.

"Alright, I'll be home by four."

"What's going on with you? You sound… different." Guilt shot through my system for a moment. "You're not normally this short with me." There was the familiar accusation. She didn't notice because I was different, but because I was less accepting of her bullshit.

"I'm sorry," I said, although I wasn't at all. "I'm just really busy with work and stressed out of my mind at the moment."

"You're not smoking again, are you?"

"No," I lied.

"I certainly hope not, because that is not a pass time that a man such as yourself should partake in," she said, sounding more and more like my mother with every word.

"Alright, Rose, shit. I said I wasn't, let's leave it that."

"Ok, no need to be so defensive." A moment of strained silence passed between us. "Well, I'll let you go," she said quietly.

"Alright, bye Rose."

"Goodbye Edward, don't forget to be home by --"

I hung up before she got the chance to finish her sentence. Every word out of her mouth had infuriated me, sullied my day that had been, prior to her call, almost perfect. Her judgement, condescension, lies and general attitude disgusted me, especially in light of spending a weekend with someone who possessed none of those traits. I had to get rid of her, of that I was certain, but the only question was how.

**AN: So your reviews for last chapter gave me heartburn from the huge expenditure of love. You're all so sweet to me, and I'm so grateful that you have nice things to say. Having said that though, if you do have criticisms, lay 'em on me, as long as they're legitimate, not just big tantrums about nothing. I won't be quitting, for those that were concerned. I have 10 chapters written and more coming, so you have nothing to fear there.**

**I love each and every one of you, to a concerning degree considering all i know of most of you is your FF profile names.**


	15. Chapter 15

Death Cab For Cutie - Long Division

**Bella POV**

"Hello, princess," I heard the most lovely voice in the world come through my phone.

"Hello," I responded, trying to sound casual and failing miserably. Every time I heard his voice I was ecstatic, I couldn't help it.

"So, I have a plan," he informed me.

"And what is that plan?" I asked, my voice full of enthusiasm.

"Well," he said, mocking my excited tone which made me scowl a little, "my country house is free and available for the next week, so we are heading down for a long weekend, from tomorrow until Monday."

"Do I get a choice in the matter?"

"Nope."

"It sounds great, I'll just have to call Alistair." I was only scheduled for friday, so I was sure he wouldn't mind.

"I had Leah do it already."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said, sounding a little sheepish.

"That's a little bit weird, but I'm used to it with you, so it's fine," I teased. "But, when you say free and available, what exactly do you mean?"

He hesitated for a moment before responding, making it clear that he understood my underlying question of whether or not we would get caught if we did this.

"I mean that… Rosalie," he stumbled slightly over her name, as he usually did, "is away for a week, so I have the place to myself. It really is lovely there, Bella, and I'd like you to see it, if you're comfortable with the idea. If not, it's completely fine, we can do something else--"

"No, no, I'd love to go." I was a little bit terrified, but also morbidly curious and very flattered that he would offer.

"Great. I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"Yay. What should I pack?"

"As little as possible," he suggested, his voice taking on the dramatically sleazy tone that he knew I hated.

"Not the paedophile voice again," I pleaded and he huffed.

"I hate that you call it that, it's awful."

"Stop doing it, and I'll stop calling it that."

"Never." I laughed at the defiance in his voice. "Seriously though, we won't be doing much, just pack for comfort, or pack nothing at all, you know my preference. We can go to dinner one night or something… Ugh, I don't know, just pack stuff, you always look stunning."

"As sweet as that was, it was completely useless in helping me, so I guess I'll just be dictating the weekends activities based on what I pack."

"Well, all I'm bringing is condoms so dictate away," he said in the voice again.

"I hate you."

"Liar."

"I never lie."

"Sure you don't, princess."

"Alright, alright, I have to go and pack now, so I will see you tomorrow."

"Not if I see you first," he shot back.

"God, I thought I was meant to be the immature one in this relationship," I sighed and he laughed, the sound making me smile by default. We said goodbyes and I disconnected the line before I got distracted again by his alluring voice.

It had been two and a half weeks since I had met Edward and they had been absolutely magnificent. And now he was taking me to his real home, incorporating me into his life completely. As excited as I was about this, there was a nagging feeling at the pit of my stomach that this was a bad idea. It officially made me a mistress, sneaking around his marital home while his wife was out of town. Fair enough, she was out of town with her lover doing god only knows what, but still, it seemed more sordid somehow than anything else we had done. I quashed that feeling quickly, my own desire to go trumping the tugging feeling that told me it was a bad idea.

"Liam!" I yelled and a moment later he came running into my room.

"Where's the fire?"

"Edward is taking me to his 'country house'," I quoted, "for the weekend, and I need help with clothes."

"Where's Lucifer?" Liam had taken to referring to Edward's wife as the devil, and I secretly loved it.

"She's away with her cabana boy," I said snidely, loving that when I was with Liam, I could bitch about her as much as I liked. Edward and I avoided talking about her like the plague and it was good to outlet a little, particularly to someone who actually knew about my situation. Liam laughed, malice clear in his tone, and I smiled. Yes, it was childish, but I couldn't help it.

"Alright, so what is the plan for the weekend?"

"He didn't say much. We'll spend most of it at the house, maybe go out for dinner."

"Ok, so you'll need cute, warmish country things, jeans and stuff… but underneath every cosy outfit there must be the sexiest, sluttiest lingerie you own. You know what would be great? A sweater dress with a disgracefully short hem line… do you have any of those? Of course you do, you're a closet whore, that's why I love you."

With that, he darted into my wardrobe, and moments later, started throwing out items of clothing into a pile on my floor. With a sigh, I bent over, intending to start packing what he had pulled out.

"No! Don't touch those, we'll need to put together outfits, perhaps do a few trial runs before anything gets packed. You don't want to look like a diva who over packs, so we need to ration the space in your suitcase to perfection."

"Liam, it's fine."

"No, it is not fine. You asked for my help, and now you are going to get it, so stop fighting me before I banish you from the room altogether and you will take a pre-packed suitcase with all of your outfits put in individual bags so that you cannot possibly ruin them."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, you know I would."

He would.

* * *

When Edward picked me up the next day, Liam had packed my bag perfectly, even going so far as to point out where everything was kept so that I didn't ruin any outfits. He lived for things such as this, but because he held a strict policy that the only viable reason for leaving New York was to go to somewhere with beaches, he rarely got a chance to pack a suitcase.

"Now remember," he reminded me as he watched me carry my things to the front door, where Edward was waiting, "only wear what I instructed, what we ran through."

"Liam, you need to relax, they're just clothes."

"No, I will not relax. Don't defy me. I'll know if you do."

"How will you know?"

"I'll know," he said darkly before kissing me goodbye, waving at Edward and returning to his room.

"What was that all about?" Edward asked as he pulled me to him for a quick kiss.

"I made the dire mistake of asking Liam to help me pack."

"You foolish girl," he chided, laughing lightly.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," I shot back with an accusing poke to his chest. He rubbed his wound dramatically with his palm.

"You'd think that you'd stop assaulting me at some point."

"You'd think that you'd leave me in the face of my violence."

"I'm like a battered wife," he mused, making me laugh.

"You're awful. Now, how long is this -- what the hell is that?"

Parked outside my building was a charcoal four wheel drive looking thing.

"My car?"

"I thought you said you had a silver Volvo."

"That's what it is."

"That is not even close to silver," I disputed. "I imagined some cute little hatch, but this is… I don't even know what this is."

"This is my car, deal with it," he dismissed, holding the passenger door open. "Just get in."

"Yes sir," I said, giving a sarcastic military salute before climbing in. He put my suitcase in the boot and then slid into the driver's seat with almost alarming finesse. I just assumed that no one who lived in New York would look natural behind the wheel of a car, but apparently, I was wrong.

"So, I assume that you're going to take control of the music situation," he said casually, passing me the cable that would transmit my music throughout his car. I took it wordlessly, plugging my iPod in and scrolling to the car play list I had already put together.

"Prepare for your re-education," I said ominously, only to hear his dramatic groan. The Kills drifted through the car and I settled in, refusing to acknowledge just how comfortable his weird car was. The next thing I knew, music I didn't recognise was playing and we were driving through a gigantic gate. It took me a moment to realise that I must have fallen asleep and Edward had put on his own music. He cleared his throat.

"So… this is it."

"What?" I asked blankly.

"This is the country house."

"Oh."

"Why are you acting so strangely? Are you not comfortable with this?"

"No, no, that's not it at all. Honestly… It's unbelievable. I didn't realise anyone lived in houses like this who didn't own a tobacco plantation or an oil refinery," I teased, injecting a southern twang into my voice. He laughed, presumably at my shitty accent as he pulled in outside the house. It was absolutely gigantic, and was exactly how I had imagined, only about five times larger. White walls, perfectly manicured gardens, huge bay windows. I wanted to go inside and look around, half expecting to find a butler waiting with iced tea on a silver tray or some other ridiculous cliché.

Edward collected our luggage and then guided me into the house. I was overwhelmed with but not surprised by what I found inside. Sunlight filled the house, streaming from large windows reaching all the way up to high ceilings. White panelled walls met expensive-looking floorboards in what could only be described as the entry hall of the home. A black grand piano also sat in the hall, looking thoroughly untouched, the top littered with frames filled with photos, some of which featured Edward, while others did not.

I immediately moved to inspect the photos. The first picture I saw featured the people I assumed to be Edward's family. I noticed Edward's father, and Liam was right, he was absolutely gorgeous, sharing Edward's sinful jaw line. He had his mother's eyes, it was clear as day even without seeing them in the flesh. Seeing Jasper in the photo, his arms around a tiny, inky haired woman, made me feel better for some reason, knowing that there was one person in this insane world of Edward's that was even a little like me.

The majority of the photos of Edward featured him standing next to a blonde haired woman, who may have been the most stunning woman I had ever laid eyes on, even though I was only seeing her in pictures. To say she was photogenic was a disgrace, no words I could conjure would express it adequately. I felt my stomach roll slightly as I went through the pictures, seeing her and Edward looking absolutely perfect together, at a series of black tie events and other occasions. If I ever felt I was below his station, now I was positive.

"Edward," I said quietly when I felt his presence behind me, "how can you… she's…"

"Bella, she's not what she appears to be. Under her appearance, which she spends more time on than most do their careers, there is nothing. She's hollow. You are… you are everything, perfect inside and out." I leaned back against him, trying as hard as I could not to cry. There was absolutely no way I could compete with this woman, she was Aphrodite incarnate. Hell, if she'd wanted me, I probably would have gone for it, and I was absolutely straight. His lips brushed my shoulder, my throat, and then my ear.

"Bella," he murmured, his voice quiet but powerful, "listen to me. Don't look at these pictures and feel bad. You are who I want. She is… nothing." I melted into his chest, soothed despite myself by the combination of his sweet words and hypnotic voice. He must have felt the change in my demeanour, as his arms tightened around my waist and his lips pressed to my temple. "You are a part of my life now, an irreplaceable part, and I wanted to prove it to you. I brought you here to show you that. "

"You don't have to prove anything," I wheedled, although I desperately wanted him to prove it to me, to assuage my insecurities.

"But I do, Bella. I can't give you my whole self, not yet at least, and so I'll do whatever I must to prove myself to you until I can."

I turned in his arms, wanting to see his expression, and finding myself touched but not surprised by the complete sincerity there. I put my hand on his face, running the tips of my fingers across his cheek bones and down his jaw. I sighed.

"This is so fucked up."

"I know, Bella." He kissed my fingers as they brushed his lips.

I sighed again and nodded, leaning up on my toes to kiss him.

"You're lucky you're so cute, otherwise I'd be out of here," I deadpanned and his eyes widened in shock before narrowing.

"And you're lucky I like them young," he shot back. My expression immediately turned to horror, my head shaking from side to side slowly.

"That was so, so creepy."

We held eyes, challenging each other for a moment, until I folded and closed mine, breaking his intense stare before I molested him on top of the fancy piano in front of what was basically a shrine to his perfect life.

"Now," I said, changing the topic, "where am I sleeping? Are we going to set up a camp in this giant cavern of a room, or is there a guest wing for me?"

"There are guest rooms," he said. Of course there were guest rooms, plural. "I thought maybe you'd want to sleep with me in one of them, rather than on your own."

I was very glad that he'd thought not to offer me his room with Rosalie, because that would have been way too weird for me, and this situation was awkward enough without that. I smiled sweetly at him, trying to convey my gratefulness.

"In a house this size, it's probably best to employ some kind of buddy system," I joked.

"Are you ever going to let up on your hilarious quips about the house?"

"Probably not, no."

He groaned, and I laughed. He took my hand and guided me up a staircase that reminded me of a 1950's film, the type which Grace Kelly would float down in a white, flowing gown. At the top of the stairs was a long hallway, stretching to both the left and right. He led me left, to the last door at the end of the hall. He opened the door and allowed me to enter, holding it open for me.

As unsurprised as I was, I was still completely taken aback by how lovely the room was.

"Seriously," I said, my awe clear in my voice, "how can you bring yourself to stay at my place when you're used to places like this?" I walked over to the bed, running my hand gently across the comforter and then across what could only be described as a huge display of pillows resting on the upper half of the bed. The next thing I knew, I had been thrown down on the bed, and Edward's face was inches away from my own.

"Bella you need to stop self-deprecating. You're lovely, your home is lovely, everything about you is absolutely…"

"Lovely?" I supplied, laughing a little at his speech. He grimaced at my inability to take his insane flattery seriously. "Look, I'm sorry Edward, but sometimes you… overwhelm me a bit. You're too far above my station, and it freaks me out a little."

"Bella, you are not --" I cut him off with a kiss. He attempted to finish his sentence but I refused to detach my mouth from his to let him speak. Eventually he gave up and I smirked into the kiss, opening my mouth to him when I felt his tongue touch my lips. We made out like teenagers on the mass of pillows in his fancy bedroom in his fancy house, but for that time, I forgot completely.

"Ok," he said when we finally broke apart, "I'm going to check out the food situation. Feel free to unpack, look around, get naked, whatever suits you," he said with a wink.

I made my way through Edward's house, looking around, trying to make myself feel less like a visitor to some kind of display. Whoever designed the home obviously had impeccable taste, it gave an air of subtle luxury, nothing extravagant or ostentatious, but one could easily see that no expense had been spared in making sure that they had the best of everything.

However, despite all that, I saw no touches of Edward anywhere. Nothing that made him Edward, none of the little things that drew me to him could be seen in this place. Although his apartment was equally lavish, you could still see traces of his personality littered throughout it. This wasn't his home, and it made me happy and sad at the same time. Happy in the sense that he didn't belong here, he belonged in Manhattan, where I was, but sad because for so long this had been his life, and although he had financed it, it didn't even really belong to him.

One thing I did find that I liked was an iPod dock that transmitted music throughout the entirety of the house. I could clearly envision pretentious classical music, Vivaldi or Ravel being played through the house when guests were over, so in the spirit of that, I put on Mickey Avalon. As his downright offensive lyrics filled my ear drums and presumably the whole house, I giggled to myself as I began to sing along.

_Who's that dude sleeping with your girlfriend?_

_Getting nude and rude in your bed,_

_Same dude that your sister likes,_

_Mickey Avalon, call me Mr Right._

_Who's that man in the black sedan,_

_With two cheap hookers and a Mexican?_

_Bumping white lines, sipping warm Coors Light,_

_Mickey Avalon, call me Mr Right._

I made my way through the rest of the house, singing dirty words and dancing around as I explored. I stayed away from the area I assumed to be the master bedroom, having no desire at all to see it. I found myself staying in the library, because once I got over the fact that he had a private library, I noticed that he had a pretty stellar book collection. I danced on the spot as I perused the array of literature, rolling my hips from side to side absently in time with the music. Suddenly, I felt two hands on my hips, and Edward's body pressing against my back.

He moved his body with mine, not disturbing me as I pretended that I was still paying attention to the books and was not completely mesmerised by his very presence, the feel of him and his smell surrounding me. A short while later, I felt his lips touch my shoulder and I completely forgot about the books, turning around quickly to look at him.

"Hey."

"Hey," he said back quietly. "Your taste is music is truly profane."

"I aim to please."

I placed my hands gently on his shoulders and looked up into his eyes.

"Nice place you have here," I complimented, "although I like the apartment better. It's more… you."

"And it's a lot closer to your house," he added with a small smile. I locked my hands around his neck.

"True, that does have its benefits," I agreed as I leaned up on my toes, bringing our faces so close that our noses were grazing.

"Mmhmm," he murmured in ascent, making my eyes drift closed without my conscious decision to do so. My arms tightened around his neck, pulling him closer as my lips ghosted past his, not properly touching. Each time he tried to properly close the gap, I would pull away slightly, prolonging the moment until each of us could take no longer.

My lips finally sealed with his, the tension overwhelming us both. My fingers knotted straight into his hair and his hands found purchase on the skin of my waist under my shirt, pulling me closer and digging in slightly. The feel of his touch brought my already excited body to breaking point, and I found myself almost quivering with need. I pulled his hair harder, keeping his mouth latched onto mine with an almost savage intensity. His hands dropped to my ass and he effortlessly lifted me, my legs instinctively wrapping around his hips.

He pressed me up against the bookshelves that covered the walls behind me, and although it caused me slight discomfort, I simply couldn't bring myself to care. I tore my shirt over my head and then began tugging at his, which he also swiftly removed before his mouth started trailing across my collar bones and down my cleavage, unsnapping and removing my bra as he went. I started grinding my hips against his, urging him forward without words, because the only sounds that I could get out of my mouth where whiny moans and ragged breaths.

I loosened my legs around his waist, and he realised what I wanted and dropped me back to the floor. I tore off my jeans and underwear as he unbuckled his belt and fly, not bothered to remove his pants completely, and I heard the rip of a condom packet being torn open. He easily lifted me once more, putting me back in my previous position, only this time, without the barrier of clothing, a far preferable option. I reached down, guiding him into me, and throwing my head back when I felt the now familiar feeling coursing through me the moment we were joined.

His lips never left my heated skin, trawling my shoulders, neck and chest whenever my face was out of his reach. His hold on me was firm, bordering on rough, but with an underlying tenderness to it that made me want him even more. As we rocked together against the expensive bookshelf filled with some of my favourite stories, I realised exactly how deeply I felt for this man. Overcome for a moment by the emotion, I pulled his face to mine, using my fingers in his hair as an anchor, and kissed him with all of the fire that consumed me. Although the kiss was interrupted by my desperate need for oxygen, I kept our lips together constantly, trying to convey how badly I needed him through my every moment. I pulled him closer, probably leaving marks on his shoulders where I dug my nails in to draw him to me, to hold him there.

As if he could tell what I was thinking, he wrapped one of his arms around my body, pulling us even closer together, our chests smashing into one another. We were both slick with sweat, and I could feel myself nearing my peak. I pulled my lips back slightly from his, keeping him close enough that I could feel his breath on my face, but looked him in the eyes, wordlessly conveying everything I was thinking and feeling. We held eyes, the intensity making me feel like a livewire, my entire body coming alive, starting to shake.

My mouth fell open as my eyes flew closed, and I pulled him impossibly closer, needing the contact more in these moments than any other time, just to have him touching me, taking me in every way. I knew it was petty and trivial, but I loved the feeling of being completely possessed by him, of him making me his. Maybe because he couldn't be completely mine, nor I completely his because of our situation, so when we were together, I craved it more than anything.

Because of our closeness, I could feel his body starting to tense as he neared closer, but a moment later, my mind went blank as I was overcome with pleasure. I hurtled off the edge of the precipice, my body shaking as I called out his name in a strangled cry. I felt him kiss my open mouth, and tried with all my might to return it, barely succeeding in my borderline paralytic state. I held onto him as I rode out my pleasure, clenching all of my muscles as I clutched at him. Moments later, I felt him tense up, his body trembling a little as he reached his own release.

He slowed his pace down, easing off as we both held onto one another, exchanging kisses while we tapered off from our orgasms. As was my custom, a giggle escaped me, and he just met me eyes and smirked.

"You know I can't help it," I whined a little.

"And you know I love it," he shot back, giving me one more kiss as he let me down. I reached for my clothing and darted to the bathroom to clean myself up. I emerged a few minutes later in only my underwear, to find Edward had not put his shirt back on either and I noticed a few red lines from my fingernails, much to my smug satisfaction. He looked me over, a lewd expression on his face.

"Not exactly what I was hoping for, but a good start," he said in the voice that he knew I detested. I approached him slowly, leaned in very close as if I was going to kiss him, then smacked him on the cheek playfully and made a break for it, darting down the hallway at a speed that I knew he would easily be able to catch me. I started down the stairs, laughing as I saw him gaining on me, only to come to a quick halt when I heard a melodic voice from the entry hall.

"Edward?"

Edward came crashing into me from behind and I slapped my hand over his mouth to silence him, pointing down the stairs.

"Edward, are you home?"

**AN: Uh oh, spaghetti-oh. **

**That lyrical masterpiece is Mr Right by Mickey Avalon, and if you have a strong stomach, I heartily recommend his stuff. It's filthy, but great. I wrote it in before I saw him live, and now, I'm even more sure of my choice.**


	16. Chapter 16

The White Rabbits - Percussion Gun

**Edward POV**

So I'm running through my house, half dressed, chasing after an also barely clothed Bella, hoping to catch her soon and have sex with her, maybe on the dining room table, when unexpectedly, she stopped running from me. Delighted that the game had come to a close a little faster than expected, I grabbed onto her, only to have her slap her hand down over my mouth. Her whole body was tensed and I was abruptly panicked, with no idea as to what was causing her such distress. She pointed down the flight of stairs that we were teetering over, and then I heard it.

"Edward, are you home?"

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

I couldn't believe this was happening.

I gently removed Bella's now trembling hand from my mouth and turned her back in the direction of our room before responding.

"I'm here, I'll be down in a moment."

"Ok, I'll meet you in the kitchen."

I turned back to Bella, who was absolutely paralysed with fear bar her slight shaking, her eyes darting around as though she was looking for an escape. I took her hand and starting leading her to the bedroom. I briefly considered smuggling us both out of the house through the bedroom window, but promptly dismissed the idea. There was no point in hiding now. It was too late.

"Bella, we've been caught. She will find you here, she'll know the second she sees me that something's up. We need to get dressed and go down to face her."

She said nothing, just shook her head a little frantically.

"Bella, we don't have a choice. It's going to be ok, I promise."

I took her face in between my hands and kissed her gently, feeling her tenseness abide a little under my touch. I pulled her into the bedroom and she seemed to snap out of it, grabbing her clothes and getting dressed quickly, as did I. She combed through her hair with her fingers and chanced a quick look in the mirror to check her makeup before she nodded, an unprecedented strength in her movements.

"Alright, let's do this."

I kissed her once more and led the way back into the kitchen, where the fridge door was open.

"Hey Edward, where is the -- I knew it!" she exclaimed as she laid eyes on the two of us standing together. "As soon as Leah told me you were home for the weekend, I just knew that you were going to do this!"

I turned back to Bella, who was standing slightly behind me, her head cocked a little to the side, looking utterly confused.

"Bella, this is Alice, my sister."

She nodded, although she said nothing. She looked nervous, submissive even, as though she wouldn't address Alice directly unless spoken to first. Despite her tiny stature, Alice could be very intimidating when she chose to be, and was in full flight now. Even though it was targeted at me, Bella was quickly falling victim to Alice's aggression. I reached my hand out behind me, trying to use physical contact to calm her slightly. Alice's grimace did not escape me. I gave her a harsh look and she pulled herself together.

"Hi there, Bella. I've heard a lot about you, from both my husband and brother," she said, giving nothing away in her tone. It was polite on the surface, but there was condescension riddled throughout.

"Hello, Alice," Bella said quietly in response. Alice stepped towards us, her movements almost predatory.

"You… are lovely, although I'm not surprised by that. My brother always did have great taste, in all things," she said contemplatively. "I like your jeans."

"Thankyou," Bella almost whispered. Although Alice was yet to say a malicious word, she was quite clearly enjoying Bella's discomfort, and revelling in the amount of control she seemed to have in the conversation.

"Alice, that is enough," I told her firmly.

"I haven't done anything," she argued.

"Enough," I repeated, and the look on my face clearly expressed that I knew what she was doing and that it was to stop immediately.

"Ok, ok, God," she said with a whining tone in her voice, ever the little sister. It made me smile slightly despite myself.

"Bella," Alice addressed her again, although not breaking my gaze to look at her, "do you mind if I speak with my brother quickly?"

"Not at all," Bella responded before smiling weakly at me, squeezing my hand once and departing, presumably back to the bedroom to hide from Alice. As soon as she left the room, I turned on my sister.

"Alice, that was not acceptable. She was absolutely terrified of you, and you seemed to be getting off on it or something," I snarled at her. She puffed up her chest in defiance, moving closer to me to get in my face, intimidate me back.

"You should just consider yourself lucky that it was me who came here, and not Rosalie, or worse, our parents. Could you _imagine _what Esme would have done if she'd seen this, or Bobby? He'd murder you. You are a complete idiot to bring her here."

"It's not like we were fucking on the front lawn, Alice," I said dismissively.

"It was obvious from an absolute mile away that you are doing something you should not be doing here. If not on your face, than on her's. You should keep her in the city, and not bring her here."

"You make her sound like a pet, Alice. She's my…" I didn't even know what to call her. "She's with me, and I won't hide her away like some dirty little secret."

"That's exactly what she is, Edward!" she spat at me.

"Get out," I said, my voice dead even and quiet.

"Edward, please, you're not thinking logically. You know that I accepted what you were doing, despite my issues with it, but you need to --"

"Go, now. I won't have to putting both me and her down with your bullshit. I'll speak with you when I get back to the city. Right now, I don't trust myself to say something I wouldn't regret later."

"Just remember this, Edward: I'm family. You know what that means to us."

"Exactly Alice, so keep your thoughts to yourself, because you're only causing us both harm when you voice them."

Never before had I felt a loyalty other than that to my family. Rosalie was the same, part of the unit, and so I had never found myself in a situation where I had to choose between her and them. Now, this new feeling was growing, the need to protect Bella, to represent her, everyone else be damned, and it was a combination of thrilling and frightening in its unfamiliarity.

She sighed and nodded, before pulling me into a hug. I leant down allowing her to kiss my cheek.

"Edward, I love you, and I only want good things for you, you know that."

"I love you too." Although I didn't like her a whole lot in that moment.

"When you get back, we'll talk. We have to figure this out some how."

She let go of me and we walked together to the door. She gave me one last quick hug before she opened the door, revealing her yellow Porsche, her non-mommy car, sitting in the drive way.

"Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"You look happy. That makes me happy too. I hope you realise that."

"I do, goodbye Alice."

"Send Bella my love," she said with some actual sincerity in her voice. I appreciated her efforts.

"Will do."

With a smile and a wave she slid into her ostentatious vehicle and drove off. Once she was gone I headed back inside to find Bella. I darted up the stairs, knowing that she wouldn't be feeling very happy about how that scene had played out.

"Bella?" I called quietly, giving a perfunctory knock on the bedroom door before entering. I found her sitting on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands, quiet cries echoing through the room. I ran to her, climbing onto the bed and pulling her into my arms, her body resting between my legs and her head pressed to my chest.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, and rather than contradict her immediately, I thought it best to let her get it off her chest. "I just… I thought it was her, and I was so frightened, and for the first time since this started, I felt like… and then Alice… she thinks that of me too, and it was just… I'm sorry."

Her tears started again, and she scrubbed harshly at her face, trying to stop them. I took her hands and kissed them, feeling awful that I was putting her in this situation. "Bella, I'm so sorry for the way Alice acted. She's very… protective of both me and our family, and doesn't want to see either one hurt. So she's torn, because she knows that this cause some problems in our family, but she also sees how happy I am when I'm with you. It really has nothing to do with you personally."

"Other than the fact that I'm turning her beloved brother into an adulterer?" she asked morosely.

"Bella, you aren't turning me into anything. I make my own choices, and I chose to pursue you. Your only mistake was being silly enough to let me."

She looked up, and I felt a little better that she wasn't hurting as much.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm not worth it?" she asked.

"Not for a second," I responded quickly and resolutely, making her smile a little. She huddled into me and I held onto her until she relaxed, somewhat satisfied that I had diffused the situation. Once the mood had lifted slightly, I changed the subject.

"Do you want to eat? We can go downstairs and suss out what supplies we have here."

She nodded.

"You can get naked again if you want," I offered cheekily. She threw a playful elbow into my chest before climbing off the bed. And, much to my satisfaction, removing her top. She looked over at me, no doubt noticing my cheeky smile at the victory.

"Happy now?" she asked, mock exasperation in her voice.

"It's a good start."

"Turn about is fair play, Edward," she reminded me, and I quickly removed my own shirt. We headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she promptly jumped up onto the bench, her legs dangling.

"So," she asked casually, "what are you making me?"

"As we discussed, I have no cooking skills whatsoever."

"Well, what kind of host are you?" she asked indignantly. I walked over to her, spreading her legs and standing between them, leaving my hands on her covered thighs.

"The kind that uses my powers of persuasion to convince my guests to cook for me," I said, my voice full of suggestion. She cocked her head to the side, understanding my meaning at once.

"And what powers, exactly, are those?" she asked, looking me over in a very overt way.

"I can show you if you like," I said quietly, moving my face to hers and pulling back just as she went to kiss me. She tried again and I just let my lips pass over hers before I pulled away, a smirk crossing my face at her frustrated expression.

"If this is you're A game, I'm not buying it buddy," she sulked, turning her face away from mine. I grabbed her chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at me, not that it required a lot of force.

"I'm just warming up, princess," I murmured before kissing her firmly. She leaned back, and I followed, pulling myself up onto the bench and hovering over her as she lay down. She flinched a little as the cold marble hit her bare back, her body jerking towards me. When she settled back onto the hard surface, I followed, wanting her closer.

Her arms wrapped around my shoulders and her nails grazed my back as we kissed, my hands on either side of her head. I loved having her like this, underneath me, holding her little body to mine. Sure, I was a bit of a Neanderthal when it came to her, but I just wanted her all to myself. I felt her tongue push lightly against my lips and I remembered what it was that I was doing. I pulled back from her, taking in her slightly perplexed expression.

"So, wanna cook me dinner now?" I asked cheekily, for which I was rewarded with a cute laugh. She went to sit up so I climbed off her, and we resumed our previous positions, her on the bench, me standing between her legs.

"Is that what you do every time you get hungry? Just make out with the nearest potential chef until someone accepts it as payment for their services?"

"More or less, yeah. It's yet to fail me," I teased, kissing her again.

"I have to admit, it works," she conceded, giving me a last peck before jumping off the bench and going to inspect the contents of my fridge and pantry, pulling out foods at random and piling them on the table. Finally, she stopped and looked over the pile she had made, smiling to herself.

"You're well stocked here," she commented.

"I don't know why, no one really cooks."

I darted out of the room, put on a play list I found in Bella's iPod and returned to the kitchen, watching from the doorway as Bella bopped to the music and threw things into a saucepan. Without turning, she seemed to know that I had entered the room.

"Either you've developed phenomenal taste in music, or you've gotten into my iPod."

"I'll never tell," I retorted before going back over to watch her at work. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Is there anything you can do without failing in a style befitting a Steve Martin movie?" she asked.

"Probably not, no."

"Then just stay put. Watch and learn, old man."

"Old man? Back in my day, we respected our elders," I said, feigning offence, which made her laugh.

"The times, they are a changing," I mused, and she laughed harder. The old jokes may have bothered me if I hadn't worked out that she used them as a way to make herself feel better about the various discrepancies between us. She trivialised our age difference because she couldn't trivialise our other obstacle, and I respected her need to do it, so I played along. After the interruption to our get away earlier that day, I would let her do anything she wanted to make herself feel at ease.

After dinner was done and packed away, we deliberated over what to do for the rest of the evening. I suggested going to bed, and was only partially joking, but when she laughed and called me a perv, I laughed it off with her. She settled on watching one of the several movies that she had brought in the name of fixing some holes in my cinematic repertoire. As much as I hated to admit it, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie she chose, which was about three kids trying to supply their grad party with alcohol so that they could get laid. I also realised that Bella and her friends quoted this film a lot, and now the jibes they made at each other about looking like Aladdin and getting blowjobs in cargo shorts made much more sense to me.

She put on another movie, this one about grown men setting up a college fraternity in their home, but by the time the movie was 15 minutes in, we were making out on the couch instead. I was lying on my side, my back against the back of the couch, and Bella flat on her back across the cushions, her head resting on my extended arm. We kissed leisurely, no real momentum to our movements, and my free hand traced over her exposed stomach and chest lightly, just revelling in her. After a little while she pulled back, staring at my face for a short while.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, you're just fun to look at," she said sheepishly, and I chuckled.

"You're fun to look at too, although there are other things you're fun for."

"Care to divulge what other things are you referring to?" she asked suggestively.

"Well, I can tell you, or I can show you," I offered as I moved to hover over her. "The choice is yours." She pretended to deliberate for an agonisingly long time, and I suspected she was enjoying the frustration painted across my face more than she should have.

"I think," she started, drawing out the words, "I want you to show me."

Without another word I crushed my lips to hers, unable to wait any longer. She moaned quietly against my mouth, wrapping her arm around my neck to pull me closer. I used the arm under her to lift her torso towards me, reaching under it to unsnap her bra. She quickly pulled it off and tossed it to the floor without breaking our kiss.

There was an aggression to Bella that only came out in moments such as these, when she knew what she wanted and was going to get it, no matter what. I loved seeing it come out, it was insanely appealing. If anything, I played to it, coaxed it out. In the spirit of that, I pulled back from her, separating our touching chests and looking at her, a challenge in my eyes. She leaned up to join our mouths again and I leaned back, taunting her. Her expression became frustrated immediately, and I knew it was working. I lowered my body back down, bringing my face close to hers. Her mouth opened slightly, a brazen invitation to kiss her, so I licked the crest of her lips with the tip of my tongue and then pulled back again, a smirk on my face. She leaned up, trying to get to me again, and I moved away from her, my position on top of her making it easy to tease her like this.

Finally, she used her hold around my neck to pull me to her, which wasn't to say that I put up any kind of struggle. I wanted her too much to continue with my childish game. However, that game had driven her into a near ravenous state, and as soon as she realised that I would not pull away again, her hands moved from my neck to my belt buckle, tugging at it and prying open the button of my jeans and then the zip. She hooked her fingers into my jeans and pulled at them, tugging them down to my knees, where I proceeded to kick them off. She then did the same for herself, pulling her own jeans open and then off.

She hooked her legs around mine, and in a move I didn't see coming, managed to use her position to flip us over, putting her on top of me. I truly had no idea how she did it, but I wasn't going to complain. I now had an amazing view of Bella, clad only in tiny blue panties, her hair a wild halo around her head, and a look in her eye that the word lustful didn't even begin to describe. She dropped her face down to mine again, her hair forming a curtain around us. I pushed it back behind her ears, wanting to see her unobstructed because the view was absolutely amazing.

I was distracted from watching her by the feeling of her hands trailing down my chest, her fingernails scratching just a little as she went, the action sending a shudder down my spine right behind her hands. My back arched towards without a command to and a low groan escaped my mouth when her hand dipped under my boxers. My hands were resting on her ass, their usual resting place at times like these, but slipped off when her body started sliding down mine. She placed kisses in no particular pattern across my shoulders, collar bones and chest as she moved towards my dick, and I forced myself to snap out of my haze of lust to say something.

"Bella," I managed to grind out, "you don't have to," I told her, hoping that my voice came across as sincere. What was I was really thinking was, "please, please, you do have to, I'll die if you don't," but I couldn't exactly say that.

"I know," she said simply, looking up from her assault of my abdomen, her big brown eyes straddling innocence and pure sex with their expression. Satisfied that I wasn't forcing her into anything she didn't want to do, I let my head fall back slightly, no longer able to support its weight on my own. That said, I could still see everything that was transpiring, the combination of seeing and feeling Bella's hands and mouth working their way down my body driving me almost completely insane.

With another glance into my eyes, and an evil little smirk on her face, Bella pulled down my boxers, my cock less than two inches from her face. I could actually feel her breath on me, and I was about to start begging when she slowly opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around the head of my dick. I nearly fainted on the spot, the sight was absolutely fucking magnificent.

A low "fuck" escaped me as I watched her take my length in her mouth, and she wrapped her hand around the part that she couldn't fit. She had told me in the past that she didn't really like giving head jobs, because she didn't really know what she was doing, but she was obviously a complete and utter fucking natural, because this was amazing. She broke eye contact as she slid her mouth back up, her hand following closely behind, and then back down. She set a slow pace, that although I could feel gradually increasing, was completely agonising in the most delicious way.

I was grunting and groaning like a wild fucking animal, unable to contain myself against the feelings that she was giving me. One of my hands tangled into the hair at the back of my head, pulling and tugging on it as a means of keeping my head in the game, and the other rested at my side. I felt one of Bella's fingers brush it and so took her hand in mine, knotting our fingers together and hoping that I didn't squeeze it too hard or anything stupid like that because I wasn't capable of thought.

Her speed started increasing more substantially now, and my hand tightened in my hair to an almost painful extent, which I barely noticed. At that point, I think Rosalie could have walked straight into the room and I wouldn't have even realised, I was that transfixed. I directed my gaze back to Bella, who was focused on her task, her eyes not on me. However, I could still see her mouth moving up and down, and I realised in that moment whoever said that men were visual creatures was completely accurate, because it was quite possibly the hottest thing I had ever seen, and was driving me absolutely mental.

"Princess, fuck… I'm gonna -- fuck," was all that I was able to enunciate, so I forced myself to get my head together and tell her that I was going to cum, because I was nowhere near enough of a douche bag to just spring that shit on someone, especially not Bella. As if she could read my mind, or understand my nonsensical ramblings, she moved even faster, her mouth tightening infinitesimally more and making my eyes roll back into my head.

A deep, almost sinister groan left my mouth as I felt the stirring in my stomach that preceded what I knew was going to be a huge orgasm. As if she knew, her hand moved to rest on the exact spot where the feeling was originating, the warmth of her little hand exacerbating the spreading of it through my body.

"Bella," I tried again, my voice a throaty rumble, "fuck princess, I'm gonna come, you have to--"

Although I couldn't finish the sentence, it was pretty damn obvious what I meant, and yet, she didn't move, she tightened her mouth even more and I felt her teeth graze my cock, sending me over the edge. With a ragged moan, I released into her mouth, only to feel her throat muscles move as she swallowed it down without a second's hesitation. She bobbed up and down a couple more times, letting me ride it out, and then sat back up, a cheeky grin on her face.

Trying not to look like a complete idiot, I ran my fingers through my hair to straighten the mess I caused in it with all my grabbing and sat up a little as well. A lazy smile spread across my face, causing her expression to intensify. She was clearly quite pleased with herself.

"Hi," she said smugly.

"Holy fuck, Bella," I said slowly, "if you think that you're no good at that, you are sorely, sorely mistaken, because that was…" I was unable to finish the sentence. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

"You bring it out in me, but you're welcome, I guess," she said with a little laugh. She leaned over the table and took a sip of her coke. I grabbed her arms and pulled her back on top of me fully, kissing her deeply. My hands slid down to grab her ass, and I was fully intent on repaying the favour repeatedly when she placed her hands over them, stopping their movements.

"Don't worry about it, I owed you one from the first time," she said with another giggle and a playful wink.

"No way," I argued, "I owe you three or four for that."

"Believe me, you don't."

I fell a little more for her in that moment, for her unassuming sweetness that she could bring out even after proving that she was a complete minx. She settled herself on top of me and turned her attention back to the movie, leaving me completely surprised and even more impressed with my girl.

**AN: What movies are they watching? If you guess right, there's a super sexy shout out coming your way!**

**Also, i just read Hide In Plain Sight by Fangmom, and it is absolutely brilliant. A burned out, too-famous-for-his-own-good, british Edward *swoon* comes to stay with his financial advisor, Jacobs family in Texas to get a much-needed rest. Three guesses as to who Jake's wife is. Features a bit of cougar action, a hilariously awkward fangirl daughter and an agonisingly slow relationship budding between B & E. **

**Really, a fantastic story, give it a whirl, ladies. Drop her a line, let her know I sent you, and spread some ficlove to someone who really deserves it.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Before we start, if you're a member of the Bloods or Crips (although i doubt there are many ff members who are), don't be angry with me. Actually, be as angry as you want, I live across the globe from you.**

**Owned.**

Making Me Nervous - Brad Sucks

**Bella POV**

"You've been properly fucked, haven't you?" Liam asked, a huge grin on his face.

"Well, hello to you too," I said in response. "What a charming greeting."

"Cut the bullshit baby, I want to know everything."

With a smug smile on my face, I said nothing, going into my bedroom to start unpacking. Unsurprisingly, he followed.

"Come on," he implored, "out with it."

"We had a very fun weekend," I said casually, leaving it at that.

"Oh, I'll bet you did," he said knowingly but dropped it and left the room.

Edward and I certainly had had a fun weekend. Honestly, I was a little surprised I could still walk properly with the amount of sex we'd had. Having said that, we'd done a lot more than just fuck all weekend. Having spent that amount of uninterrupted time with him, I'd learned a lot about him, and felt a lot closer to him as a result. Little things, like that he couldn't use mouthwash without whinging that it stung his tongue, that he read the newspaper back to front, and that he persistently tried to tame his hair, to no avail and much to my amusement. It had never occurred to me that he would be anything other than proud of his hair, but apparently, he found it a cause of constant annoyance.

The cute little things that he did made only fall deeper for him, made him seem more human, less out of my league. As much as I enjoyed it, it still worried me slightly. I had only known him for a little over three weeks, and yet it felt like he was my whole world. I really didn't know how I was going to be able to sleep without his arm wrapped casually around me, and the sound of his deep, even breaths filling the room. I took some solace from the fact that if ever Edward and I became separated while we were sleeping, he would groan and reach for me without waking, making me think that he felt similarly about our situation. It made me feel slightly less ridiculous. I knew it was almost time for me to go to bed, especially considering how sleep deprived I had been in the preceding days, but I just couldn't fathom the idea of going alone. My phone chimed and I ran across the room, only to be bizarrely pleased when I saw who the text message was from.

**B - I'm in my bed, and very lonely. Is it just me? - E**

**E - Believe me, you're not the only one. - B**

**B - Oh, good. I felt like an idiot for a minute there. - E**

**E - Call me? - B**

A moment later, my phone rang, and I internally rejoiced.

"Hey Doug!" I said enthusiastically.

"Very funny, princess," I heard my favourite voice say flatly.

"Oh, Edward… hey."

"You're hilarious."

"I know."

"I miss you."

"I'd miss me too."

"Wow, you're on a roll this evening."

"Thanks. All of my hilarious jokes aside, I miss you as well. I never realised it before, but when I'm alone in my bed, it's weirdly big and empty. I don't like it."

"I know the feeling."

"Come over and kiss me goodnight?"

"I'd be there in a second if I didn't have court tomorrow morning. I have a feeling that if I came to you, I'd never leave again."

I sighed, trying and failing to disguise just how needy I was.

"I guess I can go cuddle in with Liam, he's girly enough that it's not weird," I mused.

"Who will I sleep with?" he asked, feigning offence.

"That's what you get, Upper East Side Boy. Us ghetto kids stick together."

"Oh yeah, Bella, you're as ghetto as it gets with your black fingernails and skinny jeans."

"Crips for life."

"That's LA, not New York, princess," he said with a laugh.

"... Oh. Regardless, if I had to choose, I'd be a Crip. I look much better in blue."

"That's very true." I rarely wore blue, so after a moments thought, I had to ask.

"When have you seen me in blue?"

"I saw you in a pair of blue underwear on the weekend, and it was a very, very good view," he reminded me.

"Always with your mind in the gutter, aren't you?"

"You have no one to blame for that but yourself."

"Whatever Trevor."

"… How original of you."

"I'm not surprised you've heard my jokes before, considering the sheer amount of time you've been around," I shot at him.

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically, and I giggled at his annoyance then yawned.

"You should go to sleep, princess," he instructed, his smooth velvety voice only acting to make me more sleepy. A little turned on, but mostly sleepy.

"Yeah, I think I'll try, but tomorrow I'm going to have to form a support group for girls who've shared a bed with Edward Cullen and can no longer sleep without him."

"You'll be one of a very small few," he told me.

"More the fuck and duck kind?" I asked teasingly.

"That is an absolutely horrible phrase, and definitely not an apt one to describe me."

"Well sor-ry," I said as insincerely as possible, not entirely sure if he was kidding or not.

"I much prefer if you said I was the love 'em and leave 'em kind," he said cheekily, catching me completely off guard. "It's less crass."

"And on that charming note, I am off to bed."

He chuckled.

"Alright, goodnight princess."

"Bye," I said a little sadly, immediately regretting my decision to end the call.

"Bye," he mimicked.

"Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye. Alright for real this time. Goodnight Edward."

"Goodnight Bella."

I hung up, but held the phone in both hands, as if not putting it down would somehow keep him with me. I then realised how stupid and desperate I was being and chucked it on my bed before pulling on pyjamas, namely one of Edward's shirts that I had stolen and heading for Liam's bedroom.

When I quietly opened his bedroom door, allowing a small amount of light into the room, he groaned dramatically.

"I knew this would happen. You're addicted to men now, aren't you?"

"If I was addicted to men, I wouldn't be in here, would I?" I shot at him. I was hardly going to confess that he was completely right, I was addicted, but to one man in particular.

"True that," he agreed as he rolled over, patting the space he had made for me. He knew me so well that I didn't even really have to ask for things anymore, he could anticipate them the vast majority of the time, as I with him. I crawled in beside him and he inhaled deeply.

"You smell phenomenal, baby."

"Edward," I offered as an explanation.

"Lucky whore," he grumbled. "Also, in return for me giving up my sprawling space for you, tomorrow night you belong to me. I need a fag hag at one of my parent's events."

I groaned, but he knew that I would do it for him in a heartbeat. Liam's parents knew he was gay, but their social circle did not, so when he was required to attend events, they requested that he bring a good-looking female friend along so as not to cause suspicion, and because they bankrolled his lifestyle, and subsequently aided me in mine, we always agreed.

"Consider it done, but I hope you know what I'm wearing, because I don't have a clue."

"S'sorted," he mumbled and a moment later, his breathing had evened out and I knew he was asleep. With one last sneaky smell of Edward's shirt, I focused on the sound of Liam's breathing, partly wishing it was someone else but for the most part being fiercely grateful that I had such an amazing room mate and best friend.

I woke up the next morning in an empty bed that wasn't mine. After a moment of irrational panic, I quickly realised where I was and why and laughed at my own stupidity. Beside me, where Liam's head had been, was a note.

**Bella,**

**Gone out, getting organised for tonight. The getting ready will commence at 3, the town car comes at 6. Be ready, no excuse short of loss of limb will be tolerated.**

**Love you to pieces,**

**Liam.**

I smiled at his note before climbing out of bed. To my horror, I only had two hours until he came back in full Nazi mode, so I jumped into the shower immediately. By the time Liam had arrived back at the apartment, arms full of bags the cost of which I could only dream of, I was showered, cleaned up and fed, awaiting his instructions.

"I swear to God, woman, you better be fucking -- Oh, hey. Wow, you're ready for me!" he exclaimed happily as he burst into my room.

"I'm always ready for you," I said in my most sultry voice, gazing at him with hooded eyes.

"Wow, this is awkward, but I'm actually gay."

"Oh…" I said quietly, and a moment of tense silence passed between us until we both laughed and then he started unpacking the bags. He instructed me as to which underwear I was to wear, and by the time I had tracked it down in the depths of my drawers and put it on, I emerged from my wardrobe only to find the most spectacular outfit I had ever seen lying on my bed. It was outfits like this that made me glad to score invitations to Liam's events, because I literally never went anywhere that necessitated such lovely clothing. I gasped aloud and a victorious smile burst across Liam's face.

"How did I do?" he asked, knowing full well how well he'd done.

"Liam… it is magnificent."

"Well, I don't want anyone thinking my girlfriend is a poorly dressed skank, now, do I?" he asked with a laugh which I returned weakly, unable to tear my eyes from the dress.

By the time the town car was due to arrive, I felt like a princess. My hair was done immaculately, looking shinier and thicker than I was ever able to get it on my own, spilling down my back in loose waves. With my life-altering dress was a pair of gorgeous shoes that Liam probably would have bought in his own size if they were available. Liam had done my makeup quite simply, black heavy liner in almost a cat eye, thick lashes and nude lips, with bronzer shimmered gently over my décolletage, giving my skin a bit of a glow.

All I could think was that I wanted Edward to see me looking this good, and in a blue dress nonetheless. It seemed almost cruel that he wouldn't be by my side tonight, as it was one of the few times where I actually would have looked like I belonged there. Liam, as per usual, knew exactly what was running through my head.

"Look," he said with a sigh, "I'll take plenty of pictures, we can get them developed and display them around the house so that he knows exactly how phenomenal we, but more specifically you looked tonight." I smiled at him, hoping it conveyed my gratitude because I didn't want to verbally acknowledge how petty and ridiculous I was. We jumped in the car and drank complimentary champagne on the way there. I had learned after a few of these that being sober never worked out well, the events were simply too boring. By the time we pulled up at the Palace, the chosen location for the event, the pair of us were more than a little tipsy. It really was better this way, and most of the people there would be drunk anyway, so it wasn't like we stood out.

Outside, waiting for us, were Liam's parents, Richard and Connie, whom I absolutely adored. Richard was one of the most hilariously awkward people I had ever met in my life, and Connie was a total riot. She seemed to have no verbal filter at all, at least around me, and I revelled in the absolutely atrocious things that came out of her mouth.

"Is that my Bella?" Connie crowed as soon as she laid eyes on me. I burst into a big smile and ran over to her, embracing her with what was probably a little too much enthusiasm.

"Oh, I'm glad our boy brought you and not that Lauren girl. she looks like a 1980's prostitute most of the time. There's not an outfit she wears that I didn't see, and hate, on Madonna twenty five years ago, so I am anything but excited to see it again." I stifled a boisterous laugh at her comment. "You, on the other hand," she mused as she took my hand and spun me around on the spot, "look absolutely gorgeous this evening, miss. I assume my son the raging homosexual had something to do with this?"

"As always," I giggled, "my best outfits are always his doing."

"Doesn't Bella look absolutely divine Richard?" she asked her husband, digging her elbow into his ribs to get his attention. He promptly tugged on his dinner suit, making sure that she hadn't disrupted it, while clearly his throat awkwardly.

"Oh, well… yes of course she does…but, uh, not in a way that's inappropriate, she's much too young for me… not that I would ever consider her as anything but Liam's lovely… young… friend," he babbled, and I actually had to cover my hand with my mouth to stop the drunken cackling at his words.

"Hush now, Richard, that's enough," his wife dismissed and he nodded dutifully. Despite his oddness and her brashness, you could plainly see that Richard worshipped the ground his wife walked on, and it was beautiful in its way. Liam wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me to him.

"Let's do this," he murmured to me conspiratorially, making me laugh as I nodded. He guided me into the ballroom and had a word with a cute waiter, who was going to make sure that the liquor flowed to us constantly for the whole evening. We took our $5000-per-head seats and pretended to listen to the speeches, which in reality meant both of us avidly texting everyone we knew.

**E - Hey, what are you up to? I was dragged to an event with Liam and it sucks. Wanna meet up later, maybe fool around? - B**

**B - You're drunk aren't you, Bella? I'm at a family thing tonight, so unfortunately there will be no fooling around. Raincheck? - E**

**E - Most definitely. - B**

**B - You are most definitely drunk or we are most definitely rain checking? - E**

**E - Most definitely both. Liquor is the only way I can get through these events. I am wearing a very pretty dress though… it's blue. - B**

**B - You awful girl. I hope you have photos for me to see, you know I'm a fan of you in blue. - E**

**E - You awful man, asking me for dirty photos. - B**

**B - I never said they had to be dirty, but if you're offering, I wouldn't say no. - E**

**E - Pervert. - B**

**B - You love it. - E**

**E - No comment. - B**

**B - You're a bit of a sore loser, aren't you? Won't admit when you're wrong? - E**

**E - Well, you're a bit of a sore face. - B**

**B - … - E**

**E - Alright, I accept defeat. That might have been the worst come back ever in the history of comebacks. - B**

**B - It definitely might have been. - E**

**E - You'd know, you've been around since the dawn of time, right? - B**

**B - You're evil. - E**

**E - Punish me? - B**

**B - You'll be the death of me, but what a way to go. I'll call you if I can get out of this thing and maybe we can catch up later tonight, ok? - E**

Moments after I received the text message, the speeches came to an end, and everyone was expected to get up and mingle. This was dually my most and least favourite part of the evening. Least because the people here were completely intolerable, but most because we got fodder for mockery that lasted us weeks and weeks after the event.

Liam wrapped his arm around me again, holding me in what could only be described as a very couply way, my body inclined towards his, my hand resting on his chest and his arm around my waist. I happily played the role, just glad that I could help out my best friend. We stayed near Liam's parents, letting them introduce us to people as they saw fit and mostly keeping to ourselves. True to his word, the waiter had kept the drinks coming at a very steady rate, and so we found ourselves with no reason to leave the little settlement we had created.

Abruptly, my stomach exploded in a feel of overwhelming unease that I couldn't explain. Every fibre of my being told me to get the hell out of that room, and I had no idea why. I leaned further into Liam, and he immediately moved to support me.

"Bella, what is it, you look awful," he whispered to me, his tone a little panicked.

"I don't know… something's not right."

"Sneaky vom?" he asked.

"No, it's not the alcohol." I was sure of that.

"Are you positive? We've both had a lot and you didn't eat much at dinner, babe," he insisted.

"I'm not going to be sick, I just feel off… like I should go home or something."

"Bella, please, just another hour and we can go home, and I'll buy you ice cream on the way back. That way, you can go home, eat it and talk to your boy on the phone until your heart's content. I always feel like I want to leave these things, mainly because they suck."

I nodded, knowing that I needed to stick it out for Liam. I didn't even know why I was feeling this way, so it would have been completely ridiculous for me to bitch out on the part of the evening that necessitated my being here altogether. He hugged me briefly, kissed the top of my head and then released me.

"I'll be back in a moment," I told him, before making my escape to the bathroom. Once safely in the ladies, I put my hands down on the marble bench and dropped my head, my hair falling in front of my face. I took a few deep breaths, wet a handtowel and dabbed it across my forehead delicately, trying to cool my irrational fears without ruining my makeup. I followed over with a dry towel and then pulled out my compact, touching up my face before taking a few more deep breaths and steeling myself to go back out there.

_You have no reason to panic, no reason at all,_ I chanted to myself as I detoured to grab a glass of iced water from the bar before returning to Liam. When he came into my sights, he was loitering away from his parents, looking very worried. As soon as he saw me, he walked over, his pace too fast to be calming, and grabbed my arm gently.

"We should go. If you want to go, let's just go," he said quickly and quietly.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely. I called the town car, it's waiting for us now."

"Alright, thanks for this. I'll just go say goodbye to Connie and your dad." I tried to pull my arm from Liam's grip, but he wouldn't let me go.

"It's fine, I told them you were feeling sick and wanted to leave, so you're in the clear. Let's just get going."

"What's up with you?" I asked, suspicion ignited within me at his hastiness.

"Nothing, I'm just worried about you," he said a little too evenly.

"You weren't worried two minutes ago," I prodded, trying to figure out what was going on. He sighed exasperatedly.

"Do you want to go or not?" he asked shortly.

"Alright fine, let's go," I conceded, not wanting to pick a fight with him here. He steered me back through the crowd with a strange precision.

"Bella!" I heard Connie's voice penetrate the crowd and I swivelled my head around. She was waving her hand over her head, a clear summons to the pair of us. Liam kept pulling at me but I stopped dead, not wanting to be rude.

"Come on, we'll just say goodbye," I insisted, "please. I'm not leaving until we do."

Liam said nothing, just wrapped his arm back around my waist, the gesture seeming oddly protective this time, which only confused me further. I really had no idea why he was being so weird about this. The crowd started to part and I laid eyes on Connie, who now had a victorious smile painted across her face.

"This is who I was telling you about, Bella, Liam's gorgeous girlfriend. Isn't she just lovely? Bella, I'd like you to meet Carlisle and Esme Cullen."

Oh my god. I was meeting Edward's parents, under the guise of being their friends' gay son's partner. Fan-fucking-tastic. Edward would probably laugh his ass off at this. The couple smiled politely, Esme extending her hand to shake mine delicately.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Bella. We've always been very fond of Liam, and it makes us happy to see he's found someone so lovely for himself," she said generously, her tone undoubtedly sincere. I found myself focusing on her eyes, which were the exact shade and shape of Edward's. It was almost uncanny. She also had his hair colour, and for a woman who I assume would have been in her mid 50's at the least, she was stunning. She was like Jackie O or something, grace and decorum radiating from her like a beacon.

Edward's father was… indescribable. I had always said that I would never, ever date a man old enough to be my father, but he was definitely the exception to the rule. He had a full head of blonde hair, streaked with a little grey, and blue eyes that I recognised as belonging to Alice. I absently wondered how Alice had ended up with black hair if these were her parents before redirecting my attention to the couple. I smiled at Carlisle, only to receive a direct copy of Edward's crooked smirk back in response. I fought the urge to laugh aloud at some of the similarities between Edward and his parents.

"It's an absolute pleasure to meet you both, I've heard a little about you from Liam," I said as sweetly as possible, trying not to make an ass of myself.

"All good I hope," Carlisle joked, receiving titters from the group we were in. I then turned my attention to Connie, whispering to her.

"I'm sorry, Connie, but I'm feeling quite unwell, so Liam and I are going to head off."

"Just wait!" she exclaimed, frightening me a little with her loud voice. "I'd like you to meet one other couple."

"Mother," Liam intervened, his hold tightening on me, "we really have to get Bella home."

"Oh, but here they come now. You can't be rude."

"Mother --"

Connie cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"This is the Cullens' son Edward, and his wife, Rosalie."

I turned slowly in Liam's arms, hoping that I had misheard what his mother had just said.

Suddenly, it all made sense. Edward's family function. Liam's desperation to get me out of here. Why I felt like I was being led to the slaughterhouse just being in the room.

She was here.  
They were here.  
Together.

And they were _magnificent_.

They were your picture perfect married couple. He stood a little less than a head taller than her in her heels, which made them seem like Barbie and Ken together. He had his arm around her, and her head was leaned slightly on his shoulder. Dressed in a greeny-brown colour that normally, would have made me sick, she was still stunning, completely flawless. She had a polite smile on her stunning face, her blonde hair sitting so perfectly around her head that I would have thought it airbrushed if she wasn't before me, a standing tribute to the woman Edward deserved, and the woman I could never hope to be.

He looked miraculous in his suit, unsurprisingly, the black and white setting off his hair and eyes. When I finally settled on his face, he had a weak smile, obviously for his parents and Liam's, but his eyes screamed of panic. I felt faint, leaning back on Liam, who of course pulled me further into him, supporting me in such a subtle way that no one would notice. Edward's eyes darted to Liam's arms around me. Of course he would notice that I was completely falling apart. I cleared my throat and prayed for strength.

"It's lovely to meet you, I'm Bella," I said, my voice shaking a little. Rosalie laughed, an enchanting sound. I hated her at once.

"So you've tamed young Liam here?" she asked playfully, but the shrewd look in her eyes made me think that she didn't buy our act at all. I was awestruck by her, completely unable to respond. Thankfully, Liam stepped in for me.

"Absolutely, look at her. She's perfect," he said gratuitously, kissing the side of my head to a round of awww's from the surrounding parents. Rosalie's eyes narrowed slightly and I shrank further into Liam. I felt as if she could see right through me, as if she knew what I'd been doing with her husband. Liam was right, she was the devil. I rested my head on Liam's shoulder, trying to take as much strength from him as possible. He spoke for me again.

"I'm sorry everyone, Bella's not feeling entirely well, so I'm going to get her home."

"Oh no, are you ok?" Rosalie asked, and while her voice sounded sincere, something told me that my health didn't bother her in the slightest. Edward however seemed the picture of discomfort, his body tensed and awkward and his arm no longer around his wife.

"I'll be fine, I'm just a little light-headed," I said quietly.

"Champagne will do that," she replied condescendingly. My body tensed with the desire to say something childish and rude, but I stopped myself, for the sake of Liam and his parents more than anything else. Liam spoke once more.

"Carlisle, Esme, it was lovely to see you both. Rosalie, Edward, I hope you have a fantastic evening. Goodnight, everyone."

I chanced a look at Edward, only to see his jaw flexing with unspoken words. His eyes met mine and I immediately looked away, unable to even look at him directly now. Not with his lovely, gorgeous, articulate, infinitely superior and seemingly omnipotent wife watching my every move. I waved to everyone, trying to brace myself so that I could walk out of this place with a little dignity. It felt as though my legs had gone numb. Liam kept his arm around me, flexing it slightly to let me know that he had me. I found myself leaning on him almost completely, moving my legs but not supporting my own weight.

He directed me out of the hotel and I relished the surge of cold air on my skin, which slightly helped to combat the sickness I was now feeling. I fumbled around in my clutch, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with shaking hands. Without a word, Liam wrapped his arms around me from behind and let me sink into him when the sobs erupted. He held me up as I smoked my cigarette with tears streaming down my face, then lit another straight after. It was then that I heard it.

"Bella!"

**AN: Don't hate, we all knew shit was going to hit the fan at some point.**

**The "Sneaky Vom" involves ducking into the bathroom when no one is looking, expelling the contents of one's stomach (primarily alcohol) and then returning to the party, without anyone there having any idea of what happened.**

**On another, less gross note, the following girls are clever as fuck: ILRPinkGirl, MUNCHKIN01, Stupid Lamb429, augustine4, rangernstephfan, 71star, njflduchess, sweetestlamb, NZTwilighter and nayasofly. ****SecretEmpath, princess07890 and Crazyatheart got one movie, so they're pretty clever too. They were Superbad and Old School, respectively. The mention of quoting them in conversation is a true story, we do it almost constantly.**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: I wrote this chapter like a million times before I came to rest on this. For some reason, it was almost impossible for me to write.**

The Pierces - Three Wishes

**Edward POV**

I was anything but surprised when Rosalie told me that she had some people she wanted me to meet. There was a never-ending stream of people at these events, and when it felt like you must have met every single attendee, there were always more, and Rose always wanted to meet them, suss them out. She leaned into me, and I wrapped my arm around her, knowing immediately that it was what she wanted. She smiled and led us over to where my parents were standing, with another older couple who we had met earlier in the night.

The woman, Connie, was talking to another, younger looking man who was facing away from me.

"Oh but here they come now," she said loudly, clearly referring to us, "you can't be rude." The man turned his head and I realised, to my complete surprise, that it was Liam.

"Mother--" he said, a pleading tone in his voice his body turned around to face us completely, revealing that he was shielding a small woman in his arms, his care and concern for her blatantly obvious. With a roll of my stomach I recognised her beautiful brown hair, her delicate shoulder blades, the curve of her waist, everything about her instantly. I prayed that I was somehow wrong, although I knew I wasn't.

"This is the Cullens' son, Edward," she introduced grandly, "and his wife, Rosalie."

The woman slowly turned in Liam's arms, and all of my worst fears were confirmed beyond a doubt. Standing there in what looked a little like some kind of Liam-created force field, was Bella, her face a combination of horror and fear. There was a moment of silence and I took her in. Despite her panicked expression and tense frame, she looked magnificent, absolutely stunning, even for her. She was right about the blue dress, it made her look ethereal, almost as if her skin was glowing slightly. I just wanted to kiss her, so I bit the inside of my cheek harshly to force myself to focus.

She stared at Rosalie and I, her eyes pausing for a moment on my arm around my wife, which I had to force myself not to immediately remove, before she cleared her throat and finally spoke.

"It's lovely to meet you, I'm Bella."

Her voice shook a little, and I wanted more than anything in the world to sweep her up into my arms and get the fuck out of this place. It really was my definition of hell on earth. My whole body had tensed with the need to go to her, but I knew that I couldn't, not here. No good would have come from it. Rosalie and Liam exchanged a few words, her voice riddled with condescension and his with a protective streak, obviously trying to represent Bella, who looked almost dizzy. Her whole body was leaning against Liam's, as if she couldn't support herself. I was unable to take my eyes off her, and she seemed unable to look at me. I'd never hated myself more than in that moment, knowing what I was putting her through.

"I'm sorry everyone, Bella's not feeling entirely well, so I'm going to get her home," Liam announced to the group of people around us, whom I had barely even noticed. Rosalie made a passive aggressive comment about champagne, which Bella accepted, seeming too afraid to even look directly at her. Liam said goodbyes for the two of them and then Bella finally met my eyes for a split second. I tried to convey my apology, my regret and self-loathing in my expression, but she looked away quickly, not wanting to hold eye contact it seemed. They left, him still supporting her frame completely. It was subtle, but I knew Bella well enough to know that she would have strutted out of the party had she been able. I wanted to follow her, to carry her out to her car and make sure she was safe, but again was powerless to do anything.

"Well," my mother said to no one in particular, "Bella seems absolutely charming."

That my mother liked her seemed like an almost cruel twist of fate.

"Yes," Connie gushed, "I absolutely adore the girl. She was a little shy this evening, but I think that can be attributed to her feeling a bit under the weather."

Esme nodded. I waited a few minutes so as not to attract suspicion, then looked at my phone, sighing dramatically. Rosalie placed a hand on my arm, concern on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, there's an issue with the case I'm in court with at the moment. Would you mind if I ran out to make a phone call? This really has to be sorted out tonight."

"Of course," she agreed, the forced sincerity of her voice making me ill. She kissed my cheek and then I ran out, hoping desperately that Bella wouldn't have left yet. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw Liam in the courtyard outside the palace, knowing that he wouldn't go anywhere without her. To my horror, I realised a moment later that he was holding onto Bella still, her shoulders hunched over as she cried and pulled a cigarette to her lips every couple of seconds. From where I was, I could see it shaking in her hands.

I realised then that she had done an absolutely remarkable job of holding herself together in the circumstances. I needed, more than I had ever needed anything before, to speak with her, to try and salvage something after the damage that had been done.

"Bella!" I called out and she froze. Liam immediately started herding her in the direction of a waiting town car. I called out again, to no avail. I got to the car and could see Bella sitting inside, wringing her hands and leaning forward in a clearly defensive posture. Liam stood between us, the most firm expression I would have thought him capable of plastered on his face.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but I can't let you see her," he told me seriously.

"I have to talk to her, just give me a minute," I pleaded with him.

"Liam" I heard her quiet voice, "it's fine."

He sighed deeply.

"Alright," he said sternly, "you're going to get in the car, and I'm going to have a cigarette. After that, we're leaving."

"Thankyou," I said sincerely before climbing into the car and pulling the door closed behind me. Bella was sitting in the absolute corner of the backseat, her body tense. In that moment, I realised I didn't know what to say, or what to do. I didn't want to touch her if she didn't want it, I didn't want to say anything to make it worse. She simply sat in silence, her breathing uneven and her eyes focused on the chair in front of her.

Suddenly, and without catalyst I could see, she broke. Her head fell into her lap and I could hear her quiet sobs. Without stopping to think, I closed the gap between us and pulled her onto my lap, like a small child. At first, she tried to pull away, but I held onto her and after a moment's struggle she folded into me, tucking her head into my chest. I held her, not knowing what else to do, rubbing my hand up and down her back until she stopped crying. She mumbled something that I couldn't distinguish.

"What was that, princess?" I asked her, tilting my head to try and make eye contact. She wouldn't lift her head enough to do it. Another sob wracked her chest and she inhaled deeply before climbing off me and trying to speak again.

"I don't think I can do this."

"Do what?"

"This. Us."

I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Bella, I'm so, so sorry that this happened. I never wanted you to be in this position, but please, don't do something rash." I was babbling, pleading desperately with her. I knew that she wouldn't react well to seeing Rosalie, but I hadn't expected her to go this far. "If you can get through this, we're in the clear, baby. There's nothing else hanging over our heads."

"But you won't leave her. I understand why you won't, she's perfect. I can't compete with that, no matter how much I feel for you, Edward."

"But Bella…" I didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry --"

"Bella, I'm in love with you," I blurted out. "There is no competition."

"You don't mean that."

"Truly, I do. I've fallen for you now and I can't… I just can't go back to not having you in my life. Rosalie is nothing, you know this."

"Edward… I love you too." My heart soared for a protracted moment while I absorbed that information. "I do… but it's not enough."

"How can it not be enough?" I asked, a little indignantly.

"I can't hurt like this forever. It's too much for me, I can't bear it." There was a resignation in her voice that made me very, very uncomfortable.

"I'll leave her."

I meant it, I really did. If it meant that I could keep Bella, I would do absolutely anything.

"Don't."

That threw me.

"Pardon?"

"Don't leave her. She's what you need." Her words didn't seem to be making sense anymore.

"Look, I'm not having this conversation with you now. I'm going to come over as soon as I can tonight, and we can talk then. We quite clearly both need a little time to think about things."

"Don't patronise me," she spat, "I'm not a little girl."

"Bella, you are angry and upset and drunk. Go home, have a shower. I'm on my way."

"Fine," she said childishly. As if on cue, Liam opened the door and I climbed out of the car. He gave me a questioning look and I shook my head, signifying that weren't even close to sorting things out. I went back upstairs to see Rosalie chatting with someone I didn't recognise but was sure knew me, so when I approached them, I smiled politely and asked if I could borrow my wife for a moment.

"What happened with the case?" Rose asked when I'd pulled her away.

"I'm going to have to fix things, there's been a major fuck up." It was hardly a lie, only the context was false. "After I'm done, I'll meet you at the apartment."

"We have rooms here, so either come back or stay at the apartment if you're too tired," she said as though she was making the most generous offer in the world. I already knew that she wouldn't have been in the apartment tonight, and my words were spoken merely to allow me to stay at Bella's as late at needed, even overnight if necessary.

"Alright, I'll see you later."

"Bye," she said, kissed me long enough for people to see and then released me. I jogged out of the building and jumped straight in a cab, eager to get to Bella's. On the way, I thought long and hard about exactly what my revelation actually meant. I did love her, I was sure of that, even though my delivery had been atrocious. She was the most important thing to me now, the most important thing to me ever, and that meant that I was going to have to make some steep sacrifices. But that was the price, and I would gladly pay it for her.

With this mentality, I walked up the stairs to Bella's apartment. I knocked on the door and Lauren opened it for me.

"Ok," she said exasperatedly, "first Bella and Liam come home and she looks like she's just received bad medical news or something, and he puts her in the shower like she's a fucking paraplegic. Now, you turn up here looking like you've just witnessed a murder. Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?"

"Is she here?"

Lauren sighed.

"Yeah, she's in her room."

"Thanks."

I walked past her and in the direction of Bella's room, Lauren behind me making threats at Liam for information. Liam shot back that she was just paranoid and should probably lay off the weed for a while. Any other time, it would have made me laugh, but now I was too focused on other things.

I entered the room to see Bella sitting in the middle of her bed, in a t-shirt and some obscenely short shorts, almost short enough to make me lose my purpose. She looked up when she heard me enter. I threw my jacket down on her bed then sat before her.

"How did you get in?" she asked.

"The window," I said with a weak smile, trying in vain to diffuse to tension in the room. She didn't laugh, simply looked down at her crossed legs below her. Withholding a sigh, I moved to sit at the end of her bed, giving her space if she wanted it. She shuffled so that we were sitting facing each other, just too far away for me to touch her. I wanted to pull her into my arms, but didn't want to do anything to further alienate her from me. She looked so innocent, and so wronged, it nearly broke my heart, and I would do anything in my power to prevent it from getting worse.

After what felt like an eternity of agonising silence, I finally realised that I was going to have to open our conversation myself.

"Bella, I know that tonight hurt you, and I am so, so sorry that you had to go through that, that you have to go through any of this. But I meant what I said. I love you, and I don't want to be with without you, now or ever. If you need me to leave Rosalie, I'll do it."

"Of course I need you to leave her!" Bella exploded, shocking me a little. "Do you really think so little of me, that I would be completely fine being your piece on the side for the rest of my life?"

"Of course not, princess," I immediately back pedalled.

"Don't call me that."

"I'm sorry. If that's what you want, for me to leave her, then I'll do it. First thing tomorrow."

"No."

"No what?" I asked, completely confused.

"Don't leave her."

"What do you want me to do then?"

I watched as her face went from distress to calm in an instant. I felt like I was two steps behind, like I couldn't seem to catch up with her.

"I want you to leave me. I want you to go back to your family and wife. Don't call me, text me, think about me. You have a life for yourself that I can't be a part of, and can't compete with, so I won't. I have to protect myself, and you, from our stupid decisions as best I can, and this is the only way I can think of to do it."

"Bella --" I started, although I had no idea what I was going to say.

"No, Edward. You have to leave now." She was resolute, but I had to be sure.

"Tell me you want me this, because I don't believe you."

Again, in a split second, her calm evaporated, a fiery intensity taking its place. She leaned in towards me, catching my lips with hers. It took me a moment to return her kiss, and then I was completely enraptured by it, desperate to keep her close. She sat up on her knees, inclining herself above me and her fingers knotted into my hair. I locked my hands on her waist, pulling her closer to me, a little more roughly than I probably should have. I heard her moan when my fingers flexed on her skin and I pulled again, one hand sliding down to the back of her bare thigh. We kissed furiously, venting all of our frustration and stress from the preceding events.

Suddenly, she broke away from me, moving her head up so that her nose was almost touching my forehead. Her fingers stayed locked in my hair for a few seconds longer, as mine stayed on her skin. She finally loosened them and I heard her inhale deeply and then sigh.

"Edward, I want you to leave." Her voice was deep and quiet, but genuine. She'd called my bluff, and recognised my worst nightmare in one foul swoop. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying and failing to process her words. Without a word, I pulled her hands from my hair and climbed off the bed. I couldn't even look at her, for fear that I would break completely and start begging. I was desperately in love with the girl, but I wouldn't force my presence on her if she didn't want me. And that much she had been clear about. I picked up my dinner suit jacket and left the room, ignoring the sob I heard from behind me as I closed the door.

I walked past Liam sitting on the couch, looking extremely concerned but again, said nothing. I walked out of Bella's apartment, with no intention of ever returning. I would go back to my wife, to my job and my family, and try to forget about the best month of my life and the girl who gave it to me.

* * *

Detoxing from Bella felt like quitting smoking, or what I imagine giving up heroin felt like. The first two days, I felt sure that I could do it, but kept myself perpetually busy. As soon as I arrived home, I deleted her phone number, full of resolve. I worked almost non-stop, going into the office alarmingly early and only leaving when security shut down the building for the night. I didn't speak to anyone, do anything but work, eat and sleep when I absolutely had to. I brushed off Tanya's repeated attempts to get to the bottom of my strange behaviour, and ignored Leah's delicate questions.

Eventually of course, Tanya had to ruin everything. She waited until the floor was clear except for the two of us and descended upon my office, bottle of scotch in hand. She locked my door behind her, leaving me trapped in the room with her.

I sighed.

"In my nightmares, you didn't bring liquor, so I guess this is slightly better," I said morosely as she took the seat opposite my desk.

"See, there's always a silver lining," she said perkily, dismissing my negativity. She kicked her heels up onto the desk as per usual, opened the bottle and took a swig before passing it to me. I took four. I looked up from the bottle, challenging her to say something with my eyes. She didn't. After a period of unbearably heavy silence, and a few more mouthfuls of alcohol, I broke all on my own.

"I told her I loved her, and she said it wasn't enough."

Her eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn't expected to hear that Bella and I had ended things. She nodded slowly. As lawyers, we knew that the best way to process something was to go through it from start to finish, using hindsight to deduce what we could, and I knew what her request would be before she asked it.

"Walk me through it."

I explained it all to her, the function with Rosalie, running into Bella, our conversation in the limo, and then our conversation at her place. Tanya groaned.

"The girl is a fucking idiot."

"Don't say that," I said, not wanting to hear a bad word about her.

"She loves you, and she thinks this is best for you. It clearly isn't, but she thinks that she can't match your life, and doesn't want you downgrading. She loves you."

"If she loved me, she wouldn't do this," I argued, grimacing as I realised how much I sounded like a high school student.

"She told you she did, didn't she?"

"Yes," I said quietly.

"She'll come back," Tanya told me resolutely.

"No, she won't." I don't know how Tanya did it, but she kept her cool. If I were her, I probably would have smacked me on the back of the head for being such a petulant little bitch.

"Believe me, she will. She's going to take a couple of weeks, realise how fucking ridiculous she's being, and come back to you."

"In a couple of weeks she'll be over me and being young with her friends while I sit here, wallowing in self-loathing, stuck in a pointless marriage and completely alone."

"Wow, thanks," she said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean."

"Luckily for you, I do."

A few minutes passed, and I took the opportunity to have a couple more drinks. The bottle was two-thirds empty now, and I was definitely feeling its effects. My head fell back against my chair and I closed my eyes against the slight spinning.

"You know, you aren't really stuck in this marriage."

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"You could still leave her, prove to Bella that you're serious about her."

"What's the point? Then I'd have nothing. She specifically told me _not _to leave Rose."

"Well what do you have now that you wouldn't have if you left Rose?"

"… a wife." Obviously.

"She's not your wife."

"Oh, really? Fantastic then, that should save me a shitload in alimony."

"Fuck you, Edward. I'm trying to do the supportive friend thing, which doesn't naturally to me, and I would appreciate a little fucking effort from you."

I rolled my eyes at her but didn't say anything more. Alienating her probably wouldn't have been wise. Eventually, I sighed.

"You're right, I should leave her. Not for Bella, but for me. Enough is enough."

Tanya's face lit up with a mixture of surprise and happiness that she quickly reigned in, replacing it with a smooth mask of calm. I caught it though.

"If you think that's what best, you should do it."

"What do you think?" I asked.

"Honestly?"

"Like you could answer any other way," I teased. She laughed.

"I think you should have done it a long time ago. I don't want you to make any rash decisions though. If you truly do think this is the right thing to do, for you, and not for Bella, then do it. However, just remember that leaving Rose may not bring her back to you."

"I know that," I said morosely. Part of me was hoping it would do exactly that. "But I think it's time. It needs to end, I can't keep living like this, and neither can Rose. She can have a real chance with Emmett, even if I can't have one with Bella."

Tanya shook her head.

"I really don't understand how you can still be so generous towards her after everything."

I shrugged.

"I've had the real thing now, and if she can have that, I want it for her. Even though I can't have it anymore, I wouldn't be comfortable depriving someone of that, even Rose."

The next day, I skipped work to drive back to the country house and talk to Rosalie. On the drive down I planned what I would say to her. Our marriage wasn't a real marriage at all anymore, and neither of us really needed it to get anywhere. What little we did get from our marriage was nowhere near enough to compensate what we weren't getting. She had to be aware of it too, or she wouldn't have been with Emmett. I knew that at first she would argue, wanting to save face in front of her friends, but eventually she would accept it, if I put it to her the right way. It was going to take a lot of finesse, but I could do it.

I pulled up to the house and let myself in, hearing a noise in the kitchen. I made my way through the home, which didn't feel like my home at all.

"Hey, Rose," I greeted as I pushed the kitchen door open. "I took the day off work, I thought you and I could -- Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Closing my refrigerator door was not my wife, but my gardener, clad only in his underwear. He said nothing, just stared at me, horror struck. I couldn't think of anything to say either.

"Em, where are -- Oh my god." Rosalie walked into the room, wearing what looked like Emmett's t-shirt. As soon as she saw me, she smacked her hand over her mouth. The three of us stood there, in complete silence, waiting for someone to speak.

**AN: So who do you hate the most? Bella, Rosalie, Edward, or me?**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Links to outfits, songs and such can be found on my profile. Well, on my live journal, which can be found on my profile, but whatever.**

**Bella POV**

Interpol - Pace Is The Trick

They say that all good things must come to an end. I wondered idly if that was a proportional thing. The better the gift, the less time you had with it. If that was the case, then I should have absolutely been happy with the time Edward and I shared. If anything, I should have been gloating that I'd had him, even for such a short time.

Instead, I couldn't be grateful at all. All I could do was replay my own stupidity over and over in my head. I let myself drown in it.

Welcome to the pity party.

_As soon as Edward got up off the bed, I regretted everything. I wanted to fall to my knees and beg him to forget what I'd said, to come back to me, where he belonged. I couldn't though. When I had told him to leave, his eyes glazed over, he checked out. He'd left me before he even physically left, which was probably the most difficult thing I'd ever had to witness in my life._

_I sat in the centre of the bed, resting on my knees, watching him collect his jacket without so much as another glance at me. It was like it was me that had left the room, and he was alone. Unable to hold myself together at all, I covered my face with my hands and a sob burst from me. It didn't receive his attention either. _

_I couldn't even remember why I was doing this anymore. In it's panicked state, my mind had completely forgotten that I had a reason for doing this, and all I wanted was what was best for me, which was him, still here. I tucked my head into my lap, crawling into a little ball as violent sobs wracked my body, shaking me with their intensity. The bedroom door closed, and the clicking sound reverberated around my head with crushing finality._

_About 10 seconds later the door opened again, and I immediately looked up, hoping that Edward would come back and tell me that it was a sick joke or something. Instead, I saw Liam, and dropped my head back down, the disappointment only intensifying my anguish. _

_My best friend climbed onto the bed and rubbed my back in what I assumed to be a comforting gesture. It did nothing._

"_What happened with Edward?"_

_I cried out at the sound of his name, the sound clearly reflecting my state, and he immediately stopped touching me. He stood and moved to the chair in the corner of my room, apparently not wanting to leave me alone. Truthfully, that was all I wanted, to be as alone as I felt._

The first three days that passed since he had left had almost killed me. I'd been alone as much as I could manage, not wanting the company of anyone. I deserved to be alone. I'd deliberately ruined the best thing that had ever happened to me, and if karma was personified, it would have slapped me right in the face. For some reason, that amazing man had wanted to be with me, and I had sent him away. I could only hope that he had felt less distress than I had, that he had gone back to his perfect life without me, so that all of my suffering wouldn't have been for nothing.

The last kiss we had shared played over and over in my head, the one memory my mind allowed me to relive. It was murky, not the video image I would have liked, although that seemed fair. I wasn't entitled to the crystal clear picture of him that I craved. He told me he loved me, and I told him to leave. I deserved what I was going through, and more.

Eventually, my thoughts turned bitter, which helped, oddly enough. I rationalised that I was only beating him to the punch, that us ending was an inevitability. Really, it was only a matter of time until he realised that his wife, his family, and the life he had with them were so much better than what I could offer, and he would have left me. It would have hurt even more than it did if things had been dragged out, so really, I had been smart to do it now. It was bad enough that he had told me he loved me, I could only imagine what six months or a year of blissful happiness would have done to me if he walked away. At least this way, it was on my terms, it was my choice.

Liam came in every now and again, bringing food that I didn't touch. Several hours after each delivery, he would come in again, and remove the untouched meals. Time ceased to matter, Liam's entries being the only somewhat regular occurrence. It occurred to me that I had probably missed a substantial amount of work, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I slept as much as I could, but even then, it was restless and uneasy.

This was abnormal, I knew it. I'd only known him a month for Christ's sakes, and it felt like my world was ending because he was gone. He was the first person I'd ever really, deeply loved, in the consuming, overwhelming, frightening way that you don't think actually exists until you experience it firsthand. It was the kind of love that permeated the epic romances that I'd loved so much growing up. I took a little solace from the fact that none of their stories ended happily either. Maybe love like that wasn't meant to end well. Maybe it was too much for any one person to deal with, and eventually had to collapse.

I wasn't sure if that made me feel better or worse.

Eventually, after god knows how long, I rose. I pulled on a t-shirt of his that I had kept, absorbing his smell, and emerged from my room. Lauren and Liam were sitting on the couches in the lounge room, watching TV, and as soon as my door opened their attention shot to it. Their eyes were full of pity, which made me sick because I didn't deserve it in the least.

"Hey," I mumbled, my voice raspy from not being used in days.

"Hey," they both mimicked, their voices quiet and caring. Lauren offered me the bong that was on the coffee table, and I accepted, unable to think of anything better to do with my time. The next three days were spent stoned out of my mind and in almost complete silence on my part, despite the almost constant flow of people around me. I had nothing to say.

One night, Lauren brought her friend Eric over, and he presented me with a few pills and a bag of white powder.

"I heard you were bummed," he offered as a reason. I took the bags, dropping a pill and two lines. As serotonin flooded my brain and I tasted the familiar yet horrid taste in the back of my throat, I relaxed. I could see Liam and Lauren relax around me, apparently happy to see me acting like some semblance of my old self, even if it was chemically induced.

Over passing weeks, I indulged a lot more than I knew was acceptable. I had crossed the line from recreational dabbler to user, but it didn't bother me anywhere near as much as I knew it should have. Time was fluid, passing faster when I was fucked up, and intolerably slowly when I wasn't. It seemed like the natural choice, to avoid the self-loathing and regret as much as possible. I saw the sad looks on Liam's face, but blocked them out, spending more and more time with Lauren and her friends, people I had in the past avoided because I knew they were trouble. I wanted trouble. Descending into hell made me forget about heaven, and that was what I needed.

I stopped working and stopped spending time with Liam, because I couldn't take his concerned stares. I lost weight, my gaunt, sallow physique only further reflecting my feelings, which seemed fitting so I didn't let it bother me. Eventually, the highs got higher, and I was actually able to enjoy myself. I slept away the days, partied away the nights. Lauren let me come out with her nearly every night, rationalising that getting out of the house was good for me. Sure, getting out might have been, but dumping four pills and who knows how many lines couldn't have. That said, I hid it from her as best I could, and she never really understood how far I was pushing myself. And I never did anything when I wasn't out or injected anything, which I was proud of as if it was some kind of achievement. What a joke.

I was living like a washed up rock star and strangely, I started dressing more and more like one. Ripped stockings, black, leather jackets and heavy eyeliner seemed to make up the majority of my ensembles these days. Liam hated it, saying I was far too pretty to be dressing like a biker, but I didn't listen. I liked it, and I found that the extremity of my clothing and makeup detracted from the fact that I looked anything but healthy.

The lifestyle quickly became addictive. I would sleep through the day, get up, get ready, go out, get fucked up one way or another and then arrive home mid-morning, only to repeat the process. Truthfully, I had no idea how I was even maintaining my lifestyle, because I wasn't working, and what savings I had weren't going to get me far. It seemed that I charmed my way into a lot of things, using my friendship with Lauren to forge bonds with people, and then when I was close to them, I could see them without her even being around. I knew I was using these people, but that was the kind of relationship they were used to. Honestly, I just didn't care.

As my lifestyle spiralled further and further out of control, I cared less and less, which seemed odd to me. I suppose that the deeper down the rabbit hole you get, the less appealing it becomes to try and climb back up. Especially once you discover how fun and exciting the trip down really is. I often heard Liam and Lauren fighting over me, Liam saying how obviously destructive what I was doing was, and Lauren arguing that at least I was having fun and getting on with my life. In reality, she couldn't have been more wrong. I wasn't moving on, I wasn't moving anywhere. I was caught in a cycle, but had no means, or desire, to get out of it.

I found myself at the Laundry House on Halloween night, for the first time in a long time. Girls wandered around in slutty outfits, as playboy bunnies and naughty nurses, and I'd seen at least four Lady GaGa's already. I'd worn my normal clothes and painted a silver star over my right eye, leading the bouncer to compliment me on my great KISS costume. I was with my new friend Jacob and a pack of his friends, only a couple of whom I knew. There were several others, who I had probably met more than once, but in my state I never remembered their names, especially because they all looked kind of similar.

Jacob was cool, he had no sense of right or wrong, instead he only thought in terms of what was fun and what wasn't. I was seated in his lap, a glass of cheap house champagne in hand, waiting for the boys to bring out what they'd brought for the evening. I smiled sweetly when Jacob kissed my cheek. We had become very close of late, purely platonically of course, but I knew he wanted more. It hurt me, because I knew that Jacob was great and could have been perfect for me, but I was standing in my own way. I didn't want him. I didn't want anyone except for the one person I couldn't have. It was not a good place to be in, but I couldn't let him go. I avoided all thoughts of him, sought out distractions wherever I possibly could, but I couldn't let him go.

"I have a present for you," Jacob said quietly to me, and I smiled as I swivelled in his lap to look into his eyes.

"Oh really? What is it?" I asked, playful curiosity in my voice.

"This," he said, placing a capsule on the tip of his extended tongue.

"My favourite type of present, how did you know?" I asked jokingly before I removed it using my lips and swallowed it down with the last of my champagne.

"What was it?" I asked, probably a little belatedly.

"Pure MDMA, baby. You'll love it. It'll take you to another planet," he said with an easy wink.

"I know you'd never lead me astray," I replied, running my hand down the side of his face and then across the stupid bandana he had tied around his neck. He'd paired it with a flannel shirt and a plastic sheriff's badge and called himself a cowboy. It was a little ironic actually, considering his native american heritage. I shamelessly used Jacob, not only for drugs, but to make me feel wanted, loved. I had pushed Liam away through my weakness, and Lauren was anything but a real friend, which meant that Jacob was all I had. He certainly didn't mind when I was affectionate with him.

45 minutes and a couple of lines later, I hadn't felt a thing.

"Jacob, what is this? I feel exactly the way I always do," I accused. I didn't like feeling how I always did. He laughed, which only irritated me more, and then pointed to my leg. It was shaking. I hadn't even realised.

"It's coming, Bel, just be patient. It is most definitely worth the wait, and it comes on slowly, but it will rock your world, I assure you."

"And you're sure they're not duds?" I asked suspiciously. Duds were the bane of my existence. You took the pill, you felt the customary sick feeling that usually precedes the high, but then the high never arrives. Such a time waster.

"They are not duds, just relax, babe," he soothed. I waited patiently, or at least giving off the pretence of patience (while doing a few more lines just in case the pills really were duds) until I felt the most intense sensation I had ever felt in my life. Pleasure coursed through me, almost impossible to describe. It wasn't sexual at all, it felt like my entire body was being submerged in a pool of warm water. I involuntarily closed my eyes with the feeling, letting it take me over completely. I relaxed into Jacob's body, relishing his warmth, and he laughed lowly, a husky sound that made me smile uncontrollably.

"There's my girl," he said quietly, and the other boys laughed. I hadn't felt this serene in far, far too long, and my skin felt hypersensitive. The brush of my clothes, the feel of my hair on my back, licking my lips, anything felt good in the most intense way imaginable. Jacob wrapped his arms around me and I moaned, the sound reminding me of a happy kitten.

"I'm purring," I murmured with a laugh that Jacob joined in on. I tucked my face into his neck, loving the vibration in his chest from his speaking to his friends. He held me closer, wrapping me up in him almost completely, and I felt entirely content.

"I like this, I like it very much," I announced to everyone, to a round of laughs and nods.

"We can tell," Sam said with a laugh.

"Come here, Sam," I instructed and he moved to sit next to Jacob. I took both of his hands in mine, twisting our fingers together and running the tips of mine across the back of his hands, feeling the warmth that coursed up my arm with every touch. He simply smiled. I hadn't seen him take anything, although I assumed he was drunk and enjoying the show.

I liked Sam a lot. Despite his rather frightening exterior, I always felt safe around him. I told him so, and he laughed and thanked me, although his expression made me think he wasn't sure of my sincerity. I knew no harm would come to me if Sam was there, and I was more grateful for that feeling than I could properly verbalise. Reluctantly, I let go of his hands, knowing that it was probably starting to weird him out.

Suddenly, Jacob and I were alone.

"Where'd everyone go? They can't leave, I'll miss them!" I didn't want them to leave me, I liked them too much.

"They went to play pool inside," he told me, and I immediately calmed down. I turned around in his lap so that I was essentially straddling him, and the feel of his rough denim on my legs made me happy. He lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag then leaning into me. Without missing a beat, I opened my mouth and he exhaled into it, the warm smoke filling my lungs in the most delicious way. Our lips just brushed each time we did this, slightly firmer each time.

By the time the cigarette was burned out, we were kissing gently. There was nothing sexual about it, it was simply satisfying both of our needs for contact at that moment in time. At least, that's what it was for me. I felt warmth moving through my legs and realised that his hands were on my thighs, squeezing lightly. My hands stayed down, resting in between our bodies, linked together. I lost myself in the physical pleasantness of the kiss, trying hard not to think of anything else, like how fundamentally wrong this was. His hands moved to my ass, trying to pull me closer to him, and I balked.

"I'm sorry, I can't," I choked out, pulling away from him as panic set in and a foreign, uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach. I jumped off his lap to make my escape, and he grabbed my hand.

"Bella, please wait, I --"

"No, Jacob. I'm sorry, but I have to go." With that, I pulled my arm from his grip, my distress and racing heartbeat only making me feel sicker. The feeling that had been so pleasant was turning against me, intensifying my stress and discomfort exponentially. I darted inside, hoping to get to the exit before my body abandoned me completely, when I was swept into a group of guys, Sam and the boys.

"Bella," Same spoke on their behalf, "what's wrong? You don't look so good."

"Nothing, nothing," I said hastily, "I just need to get out of here." I chanced a quick glance behind me, glad to see that Jacob had not followed. The boys surrounded me now, forming a loose circle, all of them trying to deduce what my sudden issue was.

"I'll walk you out, put you in a cab."

"No, I'll walk home, really."

"Bella, I'm not allowing that." His voice was laden with authority, as if his offer was really a command. I just needed to be away from everyone, and this group of giant, hulking men surrounding me was doing nothing to dispel my panic. "Where's Jake? He can take you if you'd rather."

"No, no, no," I responded, a plea in my voice. "Please let me go."

"I'm sorry, Bella, but I can't do that," Sam said in the same tone of voice.

"Just let me leave!" I cried, a little too loudly. Suddenly, the circle broke apart.

"What the hell is going on here?" I heard a voice that made me want to vomit or cry, I wasn't sure which. "Is that you, Bella?"

I looked immediately at the floor, not wanting to see Jasper, especially not in my state now. It hadn't even occurred to me that he could have been at the Laundry House tonight when I decided to go. Fucking alcohol. I couldn't deal with this.

"What the hell, man?" Jasper turned his attention to Sam. "What have you done to her? She's freaking out and you guys are obviously responsible. Come on, Bella, come to my office for a bit," Jasper offered. I shook my head frantically.

"No. Thanks, but no," I said, too quickly. The capsule, that had seemed so great at first, was fast taking a turn, overwhelming my system and making me paranoid and antsy, irrationally not trusting the few people I knew I could trust.

"It wasn't a question, Bella," he said authoritatively. Sam stepped in front of me.

"And who the fuck are you, asshole?" he asked, his voice far too aggressive for my liking, and only acting to make me more frightened. I was trembling now, my panic starting to manifest physically. One of the guys reached out for me, and I flinched back, finding the circle around me completely terrifying. My shoulders hunched as I fought the urge to sink to the floor and curl into a ball, anything to escape the atmosphere around me.

"I'm Jasper Hale, I own this place, and happen to be an old friend of Miss Bella here," he said casually. Sam's stance immediately relaxed as his eyes darted around the room, noticing the several security guards moving through the room, positioning themselves close enough to intervene if need be. He turned to me with a questioning look on his face and I nodded, my eyes darting around the room trying to find away from the men who were all closing in on me.

"Sorry dude," he apologised to Jasper, "I'm just a little protective over her."

"No worries. Come on, Bella." Without waiting for a response from me, he took my arm, guiding me back to his office. I really, really didn't want to be doing this, but knew I had no choice. He closed his office door behind us and gestured towards his couch, a wordless instruction for me to take a seat. I felt like I was in the principal's office. He took a seat on the other end of the couch, and I immediately tensed from being so close to him. He of course noticed.

"Bella, I'm not going to hurt you, and you're not in trouble," he said, his southern voice and low tone oddly hypnotic. "I just want you to tell me what you've taken."

"I haven't taken anything," I said quickly, my words, tone and general demeanour immediately proving that I wasn't being honest. I was too nervous and upset for convincing lies at that point.

"Bella," he tried again, "I just want to know what you took so that I can make sure you're ok. The sooner you tell me, the sooner I can get you home." As soon as he said home, my mind slowed down slightly, appeased by his offer.

"Jacob gave me a cap of MDMA, and at first it didn't do anything," I rambled, "but then it did, and it was so good…"

"So you've taken some MDMA, anything else?" he interrupted.

"And a couple of lines," I mumbled, "but only because I didn't think it would work, but it did, and then everyone left and it was just me and Jacob, and then we smoked a cigarette, and then he started kissing me," my eyes welled with tears at the memory, "and then I didn't want him to anymore because I can't because it's wrong and I can't, and he grabbed my arm, and I couldn't get away…" I stopped my babbling when I realised that Jasper looked angry. His posture was tensed and his fists clenched, his jaw tightened with some unexpressed rage. It made me very uncomfortable.

"Are you angry with me, Jasper?" I asked, my anxiety flaring up again. My head spun a little, and I realised I was barely breathing. I tried to take a deep breath, steady myself, and failed.

"No, of course not, Bella," he responded at once, although I didn't believe him. "I'm angry that someone tried to take advantage of you in your state."

"No, he wasn't trying to hurt me, he just wants me to love him back, but I can't." I looked down, not wanting to continue down the path this conversation was taking.

"Bella, you need to look at me. I know you're upset and you think that this is a good way to deal with it, but it isn't. You're hurting yourself, and the people who care about you."

"He doesn't care," I mumbled to myself.

"Who doesn't care?"

"You know who," I said petulantly, absently noticing I was speaking suspiciously quickly. "I just want to go home. I don't like it here and my arms feel all weird and I just want to be away from you because you make me think of him," I started shaking my hands in front of me to relieve the weird feelings in my arms, "and when I think of him I can't think about anything else and it hurts so much and I just… I can't."

"Bella, you're not going home tonight."

"Why not?" I cried, sounding like a little girl being told she can't go to the school dance.

"Because, I'm not sure exactly what you've taken --"

"I told you!" I shouted and threw my hands up in the air. He completely ignored my theatrics.

"I know you did, but I'm not allowing you to go home until I know that you're safe and whatever it is you're on has worn off. No offence, but I don't trust your gaggle of friends out there, so you can come and stay at Alice and my place."

"I don't want to go to your house."

"I don't care, Bella. I'm not sending you home like this."

I waited a while, sulking childishly, hoping that he would relent, but he didn't. Eventually, I accepted his edict.

"He won't… he won't be there will he?"

Jasper shook his head.

"You're sure?" I confirmed.

"No, he won't be there. Wait here, I'll come back for you in a moment and we'll go, alright?"

I nodded, bringing my knees up to my chin and wrapping my arms around my legs. Folding my body in on itself felt nice, body heat without the added concern of having another person around. My arms still felt weird though. I thought briefly about making a break for it, but knew that either him or one of his security would find and catch me, and he'd only be angrier.

What felt like a couple of seconds later, Jasper came back into the room. He walked over to his desk, grabbed some stuff and walked back to the door, holding it open and nodding, telling me to go. I slowly unfolded my body, fighting the urge to groan and stood. I shook a little on my feet and he ran over, wrapping an arm around my waist and helping me into a cab. He was warm and it was kind of nice, although kind of wrong. I wasn't sure if I wanted to lean closer or flinch away, and it confused and worried me.

We pulled up to a beautiful little terrace in the village and Jasper let me inside. He put a finger over his lips, silencing me despite the fact that I hadn't said a word since we'd left the Laundry House. He gestured to the couch and I took a seat, watching as he left the room for a short while. He came back with a bottle of water and a bucket, which I looked at questioningly.

"Just in case. I've heard and seen some crazy stuff, and Alice loves this carpet," he said with a small smile that I didn't return. "I'll show you to the guest room if you like," he said, gesturing towards the stairs. I shook my head, not wanting to get up again.

"You just want to stay here?"

I nodded. He sighed and left the room again, returning with a blanket and a pillow. He placed the pillow at one end of the couch, but I made no move to lay down. With another sigh, he wrapped the blanket around my body.

"If you need anything at all, we're right up the stairs, ok? Anything. Don't hesitate."

I nodded, looking down at my still trembling fingers.

"Goodnight, Bella."

"'Night." He smiled a little at the first word I'd said in a long time and then left the room. I sat there, legs crossed under me, the blanket around my shoulders, until I heard someone enter the room. I then realised that the sun was up. I briefly wondered when that had happened, but didn't really care.

"Holy shit, Bella," I heard Alice's voice, and flinched at her tone. She sounded so irritated and disappointed. I looked down, feeling like a scorned child.

"Hello, Alice. I'm so sorry for this, Jasper wouldn't let me go home." She stood in front of me, and yet again, I felt like I was in the principal's office. Everyone was so disappointed in me and I just wanted to cry, or run out the door. I wasn't sure which one just yet. I couldn't even look her in the eyes, for fear of what I would find there, so I focused my gaze on the floor about a foot to her right.

"I'm glad he did. Look at you, you're a fucking mess, and this was something I absolutely needed to see for myself." She sighed and sat down next to me, ignoring me as I flinched away from her. "I'm going to level with you. When you kicked his ass to the curb, I was happy. I thought things would go back to normal, and that everything would be fine. Instead, Edward walks in on a naked Emmett in his house, leaves Rose, and stops talking to the family almost entirely. Then I see you, drugged out of your mind and looking like you've been that way for some time, dressed like a heavy metal groupie. What are you doing to yourself?"

I completely phased out after she mentioned him. He did it. He broke up with her. I couldn't believe it.

"You're not listening to me, are you, Bella?"

"He… he left her?"

"Yes, he did."

"Why did he do that? I told him not to do that!" I was furious. That meant that it had all been for nothing. The trembling graduated to full on shaking with my burgeoning rage.

"Because he wanted to, and it was time, and because he caught her cheating, and even he couldn't ignore that. We both know that it isn't her that he loves anyway, it's you."

"Loved." I'd seen to that.

"_Loves_."

"Don't… don't say that to me, Alice." I didn't need to hear things like that, especially in my condition at that moment.

"Listen to me, Bella. You have to get your head out of your ass. If not for your sake, then for my brother's."

"What can I do now? I've ruined everything," I moaned. "I… I love him, more than anything, but I fucked it all up, and look at me now, and he didn't stay with her, so it was all for nothing."

"Stop fucking whinging to me," Alice snapped. "If you want him, you know where to find him."

"What if he says no?" I choked over the words, unable to comprehend what that would do to me.

"Then you're exactly where you are now. But, what if he says yes?"

I sat for a minute, thinking over her words, then jumped off the couch, startling her slightly.

"Alice, I have to go. Tell Jasper thankyou for me." I snatched up my bag and darted out the door, completely unsure as to I was going to do, but needing to do _something_.

**AN: Heed some wise words from the author that loves you best: drugs can be fun as fuck, but when things go bad, they go really bad. Remember that. **


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Happy 20 chapters, everyone!**

Radiohead - Karma Police

**Edward POV**

_Rose sat on the couch opposite the one I was on, tears streaming down her face. It was almost nice to see her behaving like a human being instead of the fembot she had become of late. Emmett had long since left, on her instruction. It was probably best that we had this conversation alone anyway._

"_Edward, I --"_

"_Rose, it's fine."_

"_It's not fine. How can you say that?"_

"_Rose, I've known about this for quite a while. Our marriage has been over for quite a while. Of course I'm… unhappy that I had to witness what I saw today, but I think we both know that our relationship hasn't been functioning like a marriage should for a very long time."_

_She nodded glumly._

"_I know that, but you should never… I should never have -- I hate myself for you having to find out this way. I know better than this. At least, I used to."_

"_Rose, you love him, and I don't begrudge you that. But I won't partake in this farce any longer." _

"_Edward, please --"_

"_No, Rose. I'm done." She nodded again, knowing that she really had no ground to stand on as far as making demands._

"_I think," I started, "it would be best if we kept this to ourselves. We can end the marriage on good terms, because I don't want our families drawn into this, and if I know Esme, that is exactly what would happen if the truth came out."_

"_Thank you," she said fervently. "I don't deserve this from you."_

_I felt a little guilty in that moment. I probably should have told her about Bella, but I just couldn't bring myself to mention her. It was over anyway, so it wasn't explicitly relevant to the conversation we were having now._

"_Rose, before everything, you and I used to be very good friends. Things have changed, we've drifted, but I don't wish you ill. Sure, I wish that we'd divorced before adultery had come into the equation, but I think it best if we just cut our losses and walk away."_

_She paused a moment, let a few more tears fall, and then wiped them away, seeming to have collected herself._

"_Rose, you haven't been mine for a long time, just as I haven't been yours. There is a part of me that was angry at first, but I've had a fair while to deal with it." She flinched at that. "Things are going to be rough enough when we tell our parents, so we may as well not make things harder for ourselves by fighting each other, no?"_

"_I suppose you're right," she accepted. "You don't care at all anymore, do you?"_

"_Rose…" I didn't know what to say to that._

"_No… it's fine. Do what you must."_

_With that, I went upstairs, packed a few suitcases full of my most important possessions that were held here, and packed them into my car. Rose came out to see me off. Silent tears streamed down her face, and she looked more human than I could ever remember her being. My face was smooth, completely devoid of emotion._

"_I'll send for the rest of it," I told her and she nodded again._

"_Edward?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I really am sorry things had to end like this."_

"_So am I, Rose."_

"_We had some fun though, didn't we?" she asked, sounded uncharacteristically insecure._

"_We did."_

_She kissed my cheek and I climbed into my car, driving away from everything I had known before Bella. Throughout the whole conversation, I had felt nothing, been completely impartial and blank. It was only when I got back to my apartment and had unpacked my things that I realised how alone I truly was. _

At first, Tanya's words about Bella coming back gave me some small semblance of hope, but as more and more time passed, the more I was sure that she had thrown herself back into her old life, and had moved on. That only made me feel more empty, because all I could do was think about her. I worked, as much as possible, and developed a fondness for televised sporting events, mainly because they aired constantly and required almost no thought.

Over a month had passed, and I was sure that it was over. That morning I sat on my balcony, smoking and drinking expensive coffee Alice had brought over as part of the get-your-head-out-of-your-ass-and-stop-sulking-like-a-little-bitch hamper. She'd told me to get my shit together because it was sad and weird that I was so out of it. I told her that I'd lost my wife and the woman I loved in one week, and that how I dealt with that was none of her fucking concern.

When I heard the knock on my door, I assumed it was my sister again, or Tanya, making an attempt to lure me out into the outside world. A scowl crossed my face at the very thought, and I braced myself for confrontation as I stubbed out my smoke and went to answer the door.

When I pulled the door open and saw who was standing before me, I honestly thought that I was hallucinating. Standing in my doorway, looking like an absolute mess, was Bella. Although she always looked magnificent to me, she was not in a good way, that much was clear. She was thin, almost painfully so, even under the cover of her heavy clothing. There were black bags under her eyes, which were only accentuated by the amount of make up she was wearing, or more accurately, was smeared over her face.

Her eyes looked wrong somehow, and I realised that her pupils were dilated. Her hair was a tangled mess and she was chewing on her lip to the extent where she may have drawn blood. She looked up at me, completely defeated. Tears glistened in the corner of her eyes and her body trembled unnaturally. We stood, staring at each other for an extended moment, before I took an unthinking step towards her. Taking that as a sign of acceptance, she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I lifted her off the ground and her legs wrapped around my waist, her face burying into my neck. I did the same, placing my hand on the back of her head, clutching her to me desperately.

She was breathing too heavily, it bordered on hyperventilation and made me nervous. She was still trembling, her fingernails digging into my shirt.

"Bella," I murmured, completely overwhelmed by what was happening.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she mumbled over and over again, not removing her head from the crook of my neck. I stepped back into my home and closed the front door, leaning against it. I held onto her, stroking her matted hair, trying very hard not to think about what this meant. I had no idea what her motive for being here really was. She barely resembled the girl that I'd fallen in love with, and I didn't know what to expect from her. She kept apologising, over and over, her breaths slowing down thankfully. Eventually, when she was breathing more normally and not shaking as much, I put her down, wanting to look her over. She whimpered slightly when I let her go.

"Bella, what's wrong with you?"

She looked abruptly devastated.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come --" she started rambling, turning to head for the door.

"No," I cut her off, "that's not what I meant. You look… what have you been doing to yourself?" I was trying not to sound like a chiding parent, and judging from the look on her face, I was failing. She looked down at her slight body and her black clothes, then back at me. She shrugged her shoulders and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"I don't know," she mumbled weakly, dropping her head as she started to cry.

"Don't cry, princess," I begged, the sadness radiating from her almost crippling me. I pulled her back into my arms, preferring to have her there. She smelled like cigarettes and men's cologne, which I found slightly unsettling. She pulled back a little so as to look at me. She put her hands on my face, touching it almost experimentally, as if to make sure I was real. I understood the feeling.

"I… it's so good to see you, I don't know what to do," she said breathlessly, the tears still flowing down her face.

"I know baby, I know," I agreed. I steered her towards my living room, putting her down on the couch and sitting beside her. She hesitated, and then slid over, putting her head on my shoulder and her hands in my lap. I wrapped an arm around her, and noticed that she was trembling again, in a way that didn't belie stress or anxiety. It was twitchy and awkward, and I suspected that whatever was dilating her pupils was also doing this.

"Bella, you're shaking," I stated, wanting her to tell me why.

"Yeah…" she said slowly, clearly not eager to discuss it. "I took something last night, and I think it was bad, or I didn't take well to it, whatever. I'm kind of ok now, I just can't stop shaking."

"Ok _now_?" I repeated, sensing that there was a lot more to this story than she was letting on.

"Last night was… worse. Jasper found me at the Laundry House freaking out and took me home, made me stay at his and Alice's house." She chanced a look at my face and then started back pedalling. "I really wasn't that bad, he was just paranoid."

"Why didn't he call me?" I asked, furious with my brother in law for not doing anything when Bella was clearly in trouble.

"I told him not to." Ah. "I was having a bit of a breakdown and I didn't… it was bad, I didn't want you to see that."

"What have you been doing to yourself, Bella? You look like you haven't eaten in weeks, or slept, and your pupils are huge. This isn't good." I was very seriously concerned for her, she didn't look anywhere near healthy. Her hair was lank, she was sweating a little, and her eyelids were drooping with exhaustion but her body was twitching unnaturally. She looked down at her hands.

"I… I didn't know what to do," the tears started again, "and I was so… sad isn't the right word, it was like I was asleep, and then Eric gave me some stuff, and it was good, and then I met Jacob and Sam and they gave me more stuff, better stuff, and I just… it was the only good thing I had going."

Jesus fucking Christ. I'd turned her into a junkie. When I met her she was a vibrant, articulate and gorgeous girl, and after just one month with me, she was a shell of that, doing drugs just to elicit some kind of respite from the damage I'd done.

"How often?" I asked, needing to be sure of what she was saying. She waited for an inordinate amount of time before responding.

"Not often."

"Bella…" I wasn't exactly an expert on drug use, but it was blatantly obvious that this was more than a recreational thing. I wasn't going to accept her lies.

"Nearly every night." Fuck. "I'm not addicted or anything," she said hastily when my expression darkened even more, "it was just fun and it got me through the nights, which were always the hardest, and then I could sleep through the day. It made sense at the time."

"And Liam let you do this?" I asked. It didn't seem like the kind of thing he would condone.

"No. Liam and I… we don't talk that much anymore. I met some people through Lauren." Of course. I should have known Lauren had something to do with this. The girl, and everyone she knew were trouble, you could see it from a mile away.

"Jesus, Bella."

"Please don't hate me, I'm sorry, and I know it was stupid --"

"I don't hate you, I could never hate you." I needed that much to be clear. "I just can't believe that I did this to you."

"You didn't do anything. I told you to go. I made the worst fucking decision of my life, and I paid for it, I'm still paying for it. I look like crap, and when I'm not asleep or high I feel like I'm brain dead or something."

"I know the feeling," I confessed, hoping that my words would sooth her slightly. She shuffled slightly closer to me and I tightened my arm around her, trying to make her feel better in any way I could. The trembling was making me very uneasy though. After a short silence, I spoke again.

"Can I ask what brought you here?"

I had to know even though a large part of me didn't want to.

"Alice. She told me to get my head out of my ass before it was too late."

I was fiercely glad that my sister had said something, because from the look of the girl sitting beside me, too late would have come much too soon with the way she was treating herself.

"Funny, she told me the exact same thing the other day, even down to the wording," I told her, and she laughed. Although the sound was weak and throaty, it still brought me great happiness, knowing that there was some semblance of the old Bella still around.

"I like her," Bella mused. "She's scary as all hell, but she loves you."

"I assume she told you about Rosalie."

Bella nodded.

"I went home, intent to end my marriage, only to find my gardener, almost naked, rifling through the fridge. It was a very strange day." Bella laughed again, and I smiled, despite the unpleasant topic.

"So you…" Bella prodded.

"I spoke to Rose, told her that I was finished with the charade. She accepted it, not that she really had an option. It was either an amicable split or an ugly divorce. Neither of us wanted to hurt our families if we could avoid it."

She nodded and I decided to throw caution to the wind. I kissed the top of her head softly, then leaned back a little, gauging whether or not my actions were welcome. She looked up at me for a moment and then craned her neck up, hesitantly pressing her lips to mine. I kissed her back, trying to hold onto the fact that she was in a very fragile state at the moment. She wrapped her trembling arms around my neck and pulled me to her, trying to deepen the kiss. I stopped her there, pulling her hands down. Heartbreak crossed her face once more as she assumed that my hesitation was rejection.

"I'm sorry." She tried to slide away from me. I wouldn't let her move an inch.

"Don't be," I reassured her. "I'm only stopping because you need sleep."

"Yeah," she agreed, "I guess I could use some sleep." She stood, as if unsure whether or not I had given an invitation for her to stay or an instruction to go home. I was a little surprised at how awkward this was, something we had never experienced before. I knew that we'd have to have a conversation about what we were doing, but I wanted to put it off a little, at least until Bella was in a slightly better state. I stood, took her hand and guided her towards my room, walking her over to the bed and pulling back the covers for her. With a small smile she kicked off her boots, pulled off her leather jacket and climbed in.

"Wait," I instructed, throwing her a t-shirt from my drawer. She raised it to her nose, inhaling.

"It's clean," she stated. For a second I was confused, then remembered back to her past tendency to prefer clothes that I had already worn. I smiled.

"I'll trade you," I offered, pulling off my shirt and throwing it to her. She paused for a second and then threw the clean one back at me.

"Thanks," she mumbled before pulling off her top. I couldn't help but gawk a little at her chest and shoulders, which looked dangerously bony. She followed my gaze to her emaciated frame and grimaced.

"I know, I'm gross," she said sadly as she hastily pulled the shirt over her head, bringing the collar up to her nose and smelling it with a little smile. She took off all of the jewellery she had stacked on, leaving it in a pile on the bedside table and then tied her hair up. I wished I had something to help her remove her makeup, but she didn't seem entirely bothered. She snuggled down into the bed and I turned to leave when I heard her timid voice.

"Edward?"

I turned around immediately. She looked so small, tucked up in my big bed, it made me smile a little. Her dark hair, her face covered with remnants of make up contrasted almost shockingly against my white sheets, but she looked like she belonged there.

"Would you… can you stay here with me? Just until I'm asleep." My smile only got bigger at her request and I got onto the bed beside her over the covers. She snuggled in further, rolling onto her side and hesitating before resting her head on my chest. I was relieved to find that her shaking had stopped almost completely.

A short while later, her regular breathing indicated that she was finally sleeping, and although she'd only asked me to stay until then, I had no intention of leaving her. I watched the way her body curved into mine and she clung to me, her little hand fisting into my shirt beside her head. Her face looked peaceful, but I could clearly tell how much she'd wrecked herself in the past month. She twitched and shivered, even in her sleep, which was definitely not a good sign.

I couldn't seem to absolve myself of the guilt that ending things with me had sent her into this spiral. I could only hope that whether we were together again or not, she would pull herself out of it. She meant far too much to me to be risking her life so easily, even if she couldn't be mine. I forced myself to remain open to the possibility that she didn't want me, despite her actions, because I really didn't think I would be able to handle the disappointment if I convinced myself she was back and then she left again.

I stayed by her side as she slept the day away, dozing on and off and spending the remainder of the time reacquainting myself with her. I looked at her, re-memorizing every detail, ran my fingertips down her arms, traced her face with my fingers. When I first touched her, a small smile crossed her sleeping face, making me smile in return.

Hours later, when the sun was setting, she finally awoke. Her eyes fluttered and she yawned adorably, before her eyes shot open and darted around the room. She recoiled from me a little, panic on her face, and I started panicking as well.

"Bella?" I asked, my concern clear in my voice.

"Is this… what's happening?" she asked, completely confused and distressed. I assumed this had something to do with whatever she'd taken the night before. The trembling was back, so much so that I could actually see her fingers shaking as she tried to get her bearings.

"Bella," I said, trying to make my voice quiet and soothing, "you came here this morning, you'd taken something last night, and you needed a sleep, so you slept here." She sat up, still looking a little dazed, and wiped over her face with her hands.

"I remember, I just… I've had this dream before, and it was weird to wake up here for real." She relaxed a little and sunk back down into the bed, but did not position herself back on me. "I haven't slept really since… well, since when we stayed at your house upstate, and it freaked me out a bit. I thought I was dead or something."

"And the afterlife is my apartment?" I asked sceptically.

"I certainly wouldn't mind if it was," she replied before stretching her body out under the covers. I loved seeing her stretch, the way that her back arched and her neck curved was so appealing for some reason. "Anyway, I am kind of glad to not be dead. That would suck a little bit."

"It certainly would," I agreed. "Do you want to eat or something?"

"Thanks, but no. I probably won't be eating for another day or two."

"Why not?" I asked, shocked that she would choose not to eat. She immediately looked down, a guilty expression on her face, and I understood.

"Oh."

"Yeah, in my experience, food doesn't stay down very well." I wanted to make her swear that she'd never touch that shit again, or lock her in my apartment so I could make sure she didn't. It was completely destroying her, both physically and mentally, and it had to stop.

"Bella, you can't do this so much, you're hurting yourself, and I don't want you to hurt yourself. You're too important."

"I'm not important, I'm nothing. Actually no, I'm not nothing. I'm a train wreck."

"Bella, please. For me," I pleaded, hoping that I could get through to her.

"For you," she repeated.

"And for yourself," I added, "maybe get some meat back on those bones."

"I know, I'm so gross and skinny. I look like an eleven year old asian boy," she said dryly, making me laugh. "I haven't exactly been aiming to impress lately."

"You're gorgeous 24 hours a day, seven days a week, princess, but this isn't a healthy place to be in, and I want you to be healthy because my wellbeing directly correlates to yours."

"You're too sweet to me, old man."

"Are we really back there already?"

"Don't act like you didn't miss my phenomenal wit."

"It was probably the one thing about you I didn't miss."

"I choose to infer from that that you didn't miss the constant blows to your ego provided by my witty and well thought out jokes."

I rolled my eyes dramatically and she giggled, settling herself back into bed. She tapped the covers, a wordless request for me to get under them with her. I stripped my jeans off and climbed in.

"That wasn't much of a show," she playfully sulked.

"I'll make it up to you later," I promised as I wrapped her up in my arms.

"I'll hold you to that."

"Finally, I'll have a use for all those striptease courses I took," I deadpanned, making her giggle.

"I hope that's a joke."

"Only one way to find out," I said seriously.

"Oh, I definitely intend to."

"Good," I said, kissing the exposed skin of her shoulder that my shirt didn't cover. Although our conversation had been entirely playful, we were reassuring each other that we both still wanted to be together, and it bolstered my confidence substantially.

"We're going to have to talk at some point, aren't we?" she asked glumly.

"Eventually, yeah," I agreed, equally as unenthusiastic.

"Not right now though, right?"

"No, not right now."

"Phew."

"Goodnight, Bella."

"Are you even tired?" she asked after a moment's silence. "We've spent basically the whole day sleeping."

"No, not really."

"Oh… well you don't have to stay with me if you don't want to."

"I want to." In fact, I couldn't think of a single place in the world I'd rather have been.

"Good, because I was totally lying, you do have to stay with me."

"_Goodnight_, Bella," I said more firmly this time, although I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

**AN: For those who think this story is about to wrap up, we're not done yet. Even I don't know where the story's going to go before it gets there, so I'm right along beside you on the ride, ladies. **

**Drugs are bad, mkay?**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: So, last chapter, we got to 600 reviews. I cannot, repeat, CAN NOT believe that I managed to scam 600 reviews out of you guys for this story. Go team! With that in mind, please enjoy the horrors that are about to come.**

The Dears - Lights Off

**Bella POV**

Waking up in Edward's bed sort of panicked me. For one wild moment, I wondered if I was in a coma and my brain had transported me to my happy place as a protection mechanism. I was then hit with a deluge of memories; the Laundry House with Jacob and the boys, Jasper, my talk with Alice, and my trip to Edward's.

The final memory, our kiss, ran through my head and I relaxed slightly, realising that it wasn't a dream. Even in my subconscious, my mind wouldn't have taunted me with that image if it hadn't really happened. The fundamental sense of contentment that had washed over me only further reassured me, because I knew the only cause of that feeling was Edward. After a bit of silly conversation, we went back to sleep, and I honestly couldn't remember having slept any better in my life, despite the fact that I was still in a bad way from the drugs. It felt like my body was rewarding me for returning to Edward by overriding the chemical fuckover and allowing me to finally rest peacefully. Either that or I was simply so exhausted that I couldn't function anymore. Regardless, I was going to take what I could get.

I rolled over, finally feeling properly awake, and looked at Edward's alarm clock, only to see that it was 11pm. I was still caught in Edward's arms, and settled back into them for a minute, savouring the feeling. I then carefully extracted myself and made a break for the bathroom. When I saw my reflection in the mirror, I wasn't sure whether or not to laugh or cry that I had looked like this for our reunion. There was no denying it, I looked like a junkie. My makeup was everywhere, my face was pale, my hair looked like animals had been nesting in it, and my body was dwarfed by his shirt, accentuating how thin and generally horrid I looked.

After I was showered and slightly more human-looking, I sauntered out of the en suite to see Edward still in bed. Seeing him there felt a little surreal, and I subtly pinched myself, just to be 100% sure this wasn't some amazing dream that would kill me when I awoke. His face transformed into a smirk and his eyes opened.

"Did you just pinch yourself?"

Shit.

"… Possibly."

He laughed and I logged the sound in my memory, having missed it to an almost troubling extent. I loitered awkwardly where I was, not sure of what to do with myself.

"Enjoy your shower?"

"Yep, although I feel bad that you had to see me looking like that."

"As long as I get to see you, it really doesn't bother me," he said casually despite the amazingly sweet words coming from his mouth. I swooned just a tiny bit before collecting myself.

"So err… I'm sorry I threw out your body clock with my mini coma earlier."

"Don't worry about it. Now that you're rested," he said a little hesitantly, concern evident on his features, "how are you?"

I knew he was referring to the fact that I'd told him food was off the agenda until everything was out of my system, and that he was too polite to ask me if I was still too fucked up to eat anything. The way his eyes darted over my arms and legs when he spoke only confirmed it. It made me feel better and worse at once. Better because clearly he still cared for me to some extent, and worse because I'd let him down so much. He still looked magnificent, and I had turned into a raging crack whore.

"I'm totally fine," I reassured him, even though I was lying. I was starting to feel the usual feelings one attributes to a come down, the headache, the aching lower back, the slight nausea. I was used to it, but I knew telling him would have freaked him out.

The sceptical look on his face told me that I wasn't fooling him at all, so I sighed and answered again.

"Ok, I'm not _totally_ fine, but I'll live," I tried and he nodded, still looking a bit off. I didn't know how to fix it, and it frustrated me immensely. "It's nothing out of the ordinary." To be honest, I was feeling a little all over the place emotionally, but that also was a symptom of the comedown. I just didn't want him to be mad at me. His face twisted and I realised that making these feelings sound like the norm for me was only making things worse.

"What can I say that won't make you look so sad and disappointed?" I pleaded, completely frustrated with my inability to make him even remotely happy around me. I was damn near giddy, and he was making me very nervous that he was going to get angry and throw me out. It probably would have killed me if he did. He sighed.

"I just hate that as a result of your time with me, this is normal for you."

I immediately crossed the room and took a seat at his bedside. He moved over a little to allow me some more room, not that my skinny ass really needed it.

"It's got nothing to do with the time I spent with you," I tried to reassure him, taking his hand and fiddling with his fingers instead of looking him in the eye, because this was embarrassing to say. "It's a result of my own idiocy and the fact that I let you go and then couldn't deal with what a stupid decision I'd made. Then, to make matters worse, instead of trying to either a; move on or b; fix things with you, I took option c; self destruct. You're not responsible in the slightest."

Belatedly, I realised that I had just completely spilled my guts to him, and anxiously looked up, awaiting his response.

"I should have gotten off my ass, stopped moping and forced you to take me back."

"Well, when you put it that way," I said jokingly, and he laughed weakly. I really, really didn't want to talk about all the stupid stuff I'd been doing since we'd parted. All I wanted was his reassurance that he still wanted me, at least in some capacity. I'd take friends or tennis partners or pen pals, whatever he wanted, as long as he was a part of my life. Not having him around was no longer an option if I wanted to remain even remotely sane, that much was proven.

"I think," he started, he voice sounding uncharacteristically hesitant, "that we shouldn't be apart from each other again. Separation hasn't played out to either of our advantages, it seems."

It was like he could read my mind. I leaned back, resting my body across his so that I could still look at his oh-so-pretty face while we talked.

"I like that plan," I told him. He smiled.

"Glad to hear it."

"So what now?" I asked after a short while.

"I don't know, what do you want to do? We've just woken up and it's 11:30 at night."

"Well," I thought aloud, "I don't have any clean clothes, so going out is off the table. That can only mean one thing."

"Really? Only one?" he asked sceptically, obviously unclear as to how I came to this conclusion.

"Yep. Breakfast at dinner," I said as a smile stretched across my face. He smiled too, clearly appeased that I was suggesting that we eat. I jumped up off the bed and ran into the kitchen, full of energy from my amazing sleep, and started looking through cupboards until I had found the necessary supplies for pancakes. A few moments later, Edward wandered in after me, yawning a little.

"I'd suggest coffee to complete the breakfast façade, but you really don't look like you need it," he teased, earning him a smack on the chest from the wooden spoon I had just pulled out of the drawer.

"As violent as ever," he said as he took a seat at the kitchen island.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'll stop doing it when you stop deserving it."

"Harsh but fair," he mused and I laughed. He watched me as I moved about, organising and then cooking food. Eventually, I broke under the intensity of his gaze.

"What are you staring at?" I asked, a little miffed.

"You," was all he offered as a response.

"…Oh."

"Yep."

"I forgot how annoying you are," I told him.

"How could you ever forget that?" he asked, feigning offence, "it's my most defining quality."

"The human memory is a sieve, peaches," I said with a smirk and he exhaled heavily at the old nickname.

"Obviously the sieve has been draining the wrong things from your mind."

"I couldn't disagree more," I shot back, a cheeky smile on my face.

"As much as I'm enjoying this trip down embarrassing memory lane," he said sarcastically, "get back to cooking, woman."

I glared at him but did as he asked, and a few minutes later, I had cooked us both pancakes, the first real meal I'd eaten in quite a while. By the time we'd eaten, I thought I was going to explode.

"I'm so full," I moaned, regretting forcing down the food to placate him now that I was starting to feel a bit ill. He said nothing, but I could feel the satisfaction rolling off him in waves that I had finally done something normal. Turning up at your ex-boyfriend's house shaking like a leaf and then sleeping until 11pm were hardly average daily activities for most people, and I could tell that it bothered him a lot more than he was letting on. I stood up, dumped my plates in the sink and then tossed the dishtowel at him.

"You're on clean up, buddy."

I watched him as he went about clearing up everything, just soaking in his presence. It was great. I observed intently, making sure that there wasn't any subtle change that I had missed. There wasn't, he was exactly the same, and that made me smile. He was still my Edward, the man I loved, and would always love. I just wanted to tell him, but wasn't sure how he would receive it, so I kept my mouth shut. After he finished, he turned back to me, and returned the big smile on my face.

"So, what now?"

"Wanna make out?" I asked him seriously, and his mouth fell open.

"Are you… really?" he asked, sounding thoroughly taken aback by my offer.

"Well… yeah," I said sheepishly. "But not anymore, my ego is too bruised." I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away from him, pouting dramatically. He came and sat on the stool next to me, effortlessly turning my chair around, with me in it, so that we were face to face.

"Alright," he said purposefully, "let's end this."

My heart dropped to the soles of my feet.

"No, no, poor choice of words," he back pedalled when he saw my expression. "What I mean is, I'm done dancing around the topic. Bella, I still love you, and I want to be with you. Now I can properly be yours, and you mine. If you'll have me, I'd love to start over with you."

"I'm… I'm not really sure what to say," I said, completely dazed by how brazen he'd been, and impressed, because I would never had have the courage to put myself on the line like that. His face dropped as uncertainty claimed him. For some bizarre reason, my turning up at his house and collapsing into his arms hadn't convinced him of how I felt. "What I mean is, I don't know what to say other than… ditto. I love you and I want you too." It felt almost odd having to state it, it just seemed like assumed knowledge in my mind. He exhaled heavily.

"Thank God."

"How awkward would it have been if I'd been like, oh sorry no?" I said with a laugh, trying to diffuse the tense, almost overwhelming feeling our conversation was giving me.

"You wouldn't have," he stated confidently.

"Well, well, you're certainly sure of yourself."

"Not of myself, of us."

I didn't know whether to laugh at his tackiness, or faint at his sweetness, so instead I threw myself into his lap and kissed him, pouring all the want and love that I felt for him into it. After a second of surprise, he kissed me back, and I wrapped my legs around his seated body. I slid my hands up from his shoulders and pushed them into his hair, smirking into the kiss at how _right_ they felt there.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against mine and just looking at me again.

"All this staring has to stop," I warned him jokingly, "it's creepy."

Rather than responding, he pressed his lips to mine again, deepening the kiss and I sighed when his tongue touched my own. My breathing became even more irregular and I trembled slightly, I didn't know how to process the staggering feelings that were passing through me in that moment. Actually, I felt a little dizzy. I pulled back from him, trying to regulate my breathing. It then occurred to me that this feeling was not a result of Edward's hands and lips on me, but something more sinister.

"Edward…" I gasped quietly. He pulled back, a smirk on his face.

"Yes, princess?"

When he got a full look at my expression, his smug one quickly shifted.

"Bella, what's wrong?"

"I don't… I don't know. I feel wrong." I could hear my heart beating in my ears, I felt hot even though I was barely clothed and it wasn't hot in Edward's apartment at all. My mouth was dry and I was a bit dizzy, unable to focus clearly. Edward quickly stood, lifting me with ease and placing me in the chair in his place. I slumped, feeling completely drained. Edward looked outright panicked.

"Bella, I'm going to call 911."

"No!" I protested weakly as he picked up his phone. "Call Jacob please. He'll know what to do, I don't need a hospital."

"Who is Jacob?" he asked harshly.

"Just… please. Get my phone, tell him that I'm dizzy and hot and shaking, and breathing feels weird."

"Breathing feels _weird? _Fuck that, Bella. I'm calling an ambulance."

"Edward, please," I begged. With a loud sigh and a muttered curse he ran out of the kitchen to grab my phone, and I put my head down on the counter, enjoying the cool marble on my skin. I closed my eyes, trying to combat the dizziness. I ran my hand over my face, only to feel wetness on it, so I forced my eyes open and saw blood on my hand. That couldn't be good.

"Edward?" I rasped out, unable to panic as much as I felt the desire to due to my body having completely abandoned my mind. My eyes fell closed once more and I heard Edward's footsteps as my ears started ringing.

"What is it -- Bella!"

"Jacob, please," was all I could get out before I lost it completely.

* * *

I woke up in Edward's bed, wrapped up in his blankets but still freezing. Blearily, I wiped my face with my hands and looked around the room, to see Edward and Jacob speaking to each other.

"I don't know what the fuck you've been doing to her, but I swear to god," Edward said, his voice quiet but carrying a menace I never thought him capable of, "I will rip you shreds, you piece of shit."

"Fuck you man, I didn't force her into anything. She's a big girl, she can make her own choices. Fair enough, this shit's messed up, but it's not my fucking fault. Actually," he said, his voice taking on a smug tone, "if it wasn't for me, she'd be in a fucking hospital ward right now for no fucking reason, only to be checked into rehab straight after. You should be thanking me dude."

"I will thank you for jack shit, you son of a bitch. You've done absolutely fucking nothing, and you're strutting around like you gave her the kiss of life."

"I'll happily give her more than that," Jacob said under his breath, and I heard Edward growl and saw his fists flex.

"Guys, please," I said throatily, coughing a little. My throat still felt painfully dry. They both turned and Edward crossed the room in a heartbeat to come to my bedside. "Can we cut down the cursing, gentleman?" I chided. "There are ladies present."

"Where?" Jacob asked, looking around the room with a smile on his face that I couldn't help but return, although weakly. I looked back at Edward, who looked thoroughly pissed off.

"So is anyone going to tell me while I feel like this?" I asked. I was hot but shivering, my head was aching, my throat was dry as though I'd been vomiting, and I kind of smelled like vomit. Didn't take much to put it together that I'd made a complete and utter ass of myself. This was the drugs, I had no doubt.

Edward was the first to speak, his voice level and detached.

"According to him," he said, clearly not referring to Jacob by his name out of disrespect, "you've been high for the past month, and when you take a night off after something like that, your body starts to panic, especially paired with the level of exhaustion you were experiencing. That explains the chills, the breathing troubles, the sweating, the heart palpitations, all of it. Even the fainting."

"But not the blood," I said quietly.

"Nose bleed," Jacob offered. "With the amount of coke you've done lately, I'm not fucking surprised your nose is bleeding."

"Oh."

"Long story short," Jacob surmised, "withdrawals are a bitch."

There was an understatement.

I looked at Edward again, and he looked so absent, I was terrified. He was going to leave me, there was no way he would want me now. I reached out for his hand, and while he didn't recoil from me, he didn't respond in any noticeable way.

"Edward, please," I begged, although I wasn't sure what I was asking for.

"Yes, Bella?" he asked, his voice calm.

"Please," I repeated, with no clue as to what I should say, what I could say that would make any of this better.

"You need some water," he said, shaking his hand free of mine and leaving the room. I covered my face with my hand, feeling absolutely wrecked but for some reason, unable to cry. I felt the bed sink and assumed that Jacob had sat down beside me.

"Bel, you'll be ok. I know it hurts now, and you feel like shit, but in a day or two it'll be over and you'll be ok. I promise you."

"Who gives a shit about that!" I cried. "I don't give a flying fuck about whether or not I feel like shit for a day or two. The only thing I know is that if he doesn't forgive me for this, if he doesn't let this go, I will be feeling like shit for the rest of my fucking days. Do you understand that Jacob?" I knew how melodramatic I was being, but I didn't really care.

"Who the fuck is this guy, anyway?" Jacob shot back at me. "I never heard a word about him until he calls me up, telling me that you're bleeding and fainting, and asking for me. And despite you never once mentioning him, apparently you can't live unless you have his seal of approval on your actions."

"You never heard about him because I couldn't fucking say his name without it feeling like I was going to have a fucking nervous breakdown," I spat. "it nearly killed me last time he left. Why do you think I was doing all the fucking drugs in the first place?

"I thought… I don't know what I thought, but I fucking get it now. You were using me, then?"

"No Jake, I wasn't." I was, but that wasn't all it had been about. Jake had been a real friend to me when I'd had nothing else, and I didn't want him to think anything less than that. I reached for his hand and he pulled it away harshly.

"Fuck that, Bella. You're a junkie and a desperate bitch. You used me for drugs, leading me on, making me think that you were actually interested in me when all you were interested in was your next fucking hit. And why did you want the hit? To forget some guy who dumped your ass." He laughed sardonically. "That's just pathetic. Seems like I may have dodged a bullet here, I wouldn't want your pyscho ass overdosing if we ever got together and I got sick of you like he did.

"Well," he said as he stood up, grabbing his jacket and walking to the bedroom door. "Every happiness to you both, sounds like a real fairytale." With another cruel laugh he walked off, and a few moments later I heard the front door click signifying his departure. Edward walked back into the room a second later, with two bottles of water in his hands. He passed me one and put the other by my bedside. I couldn't even look up to take it properly.

"I take it that Jacob is no longer with us."

I nodded.

"Good riddance," Edward said scathingly before pausing. "Bella… what's wrong?"

I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it.

"Bella, what did he do?"

"He didn't _do_ anything."

"What did he say then?"

"What I'm waiting for you to say."

"… Which is?"

I sighed, trying to bolster myself before I handed him the ammunition that would end my prospects with him.

"That there's no reason you would ever want me after this. I'm a junkie and a pyscho, and if you were wise, you'd get as far away from me as you could."

"Bella, cut the bullshit."

Wow, of all the things I thought he would say, I hadn't been expecting that.

"I'm not going to walk away from you. Do you really have so little faith in me?" His voice was almost angry, and I shied away from it, unsure as to how I should respond. "When shit gets messy, you have to realise that it doesn't fucking matter. I sincerely hope that something like this never happens again, and if I have my way, it won't, but I'm not going anywhere. Just remember," he reminded me, "I wasn't the one who left here, you did."

I felt like I'd been slapped in the face.

"Of course I walked away," I snapped, "I was ambushed by you and your fucking Barbie with no prior warning, and I freaked out. I apologised for that, and I can't believe you're throwing it in my face."

"I'm not throwing anything in your face, I'm just stating fact. I never gave you any indication that I wanted to leave you, or that I ever would."

"Yeah, you just stayed married to a woman who was cheating on you and refused to give yourself to me even though I gave you everything I had. You didn't have to walk away, because you were never fucking there to begin with."

I realised then, with one look at his face that I had gone too far. I was just so angry at his accusations, I couldn't contain myself, but my low blow was completely unnecessary. He stood and left the room without another word.

Briefly, I thought about storming out of his apartment, but couldn't bring myself to get up and do it. The ramifications of running away again would have been too much for me to deal with, so instead, I flicked off the bedside light and surrendered myself to unconsciousness. I woke several times during the night, and Edward was never there.

When I woke in the morning, I got up immediately and searched the apartment, panic starting to set in as I realised that he had left.


	22. Chapter 22

**Edward POV**

British India - Vanilla

I trudged into the office, still reeling about the night before. The things that Bella and I had said to each other were completely out of line, but for some reason, I had been entirely unable to stop myself from saying them, and it seemed that she had felt the same. Our time together had been so blissfully happy, spent carefully avoiding the serious issues between us and it seemed that under the pressure and the intensity of our reunion, we had finally broken. I understood.

That didn't mean that I wasn't really, really pissed off about what had been said. She had thrown my deepest insecurity about our relationship right in my face, the one serious fuck up that I had made, and it stung brutally. Rather than respond or do something stupid to make things even worse, I'd left the room. About 15 minutes later, I broke and returned to the bedroom, only to see Bella curled in on herself, sleeping. Her posture spoke volumes, defensive and unwelcoming, so I returned to the couch, because we both needed some space.

I knew that the fight was more a product of our environment than of our actual feelings, or at least I hoped it was. The combination of Bella's state, that asshole Jacob and the dizzying, overwhelming relief at being together once more had pushed us far beyond our comfort zones and as a result, we were all over the place. I loved her more than my own life, and she knew it. I knew that she felt the same way, and would never doubt it, regardless of whatever she said to me, so ultimately, I wasn't too concerned. Just tired, pissed off, and unsure as to how to proceed.

I walked into Tanya's room and found her on the phone, and so wordlessly nodded towards my office, letting her know that I needed her when she was free. Her eyes widened when she looked at me, and I could only imagine how bad I looked. I didn't have a tie on, my suit jacket was probably crumpled, I hadn't shaved and so had a weekend's worth of scruff on my face. I'd hardly paid attention to my appearance before I snuck out of my closet, trying not to wake Bella. I'd kissed her forehead gently before I'd left, and the smile that crossed her face made me sure that she'd felt me there, even if she hadn't seen me herself.

I wandered back to my office, thanking Leah for the coffee and bagel she'd placed on my desk. The girl really was a godsend, especially when I was in no state to be thinking about the little things. I sat down at my desk, resting my elbows on the table and putting my hands on my head, pulling at my hair while trying to think about what exactly I was going to do to fix things without further fucking it up. I needed the lesbian to come in here and talk some sense into me, to give me a miracle cure, because I had to admit, she was usually able to do that for me. She'd annoy the living shit out of me most likely, but at that moment, I was willing to take her crap in order to fix things.

There was a knock at my office door and I looked up, expecting to see Tanya. Instead, Leah was standing there, her expression putting me straight on edge.

"I'm sorry, Edward, I tried to stop her, but I couldn't. The receptionist didn't think."

Being in my profession, there was always a small group of people who were unhappy with their outcomes and felt it necessary to come into the firm to make a scene. As a result, we had a list at reception of people who could not enter the building. Blacklisted, if you will.

"Jesus," I muttered, "who is it? Mrs Durrette again?"

"No..."

"Oh, thank God." I was grateful there would be no screaming, crying, or property damage today.

"It's your ex-wife."

Now I was confused. A moment later, Rosalie burst into the room, a murderous expression on her face and her phone in her hand. I don't think I'd ever seen her this irate, passive aggression was more her style. Abruptly, I was even more exhausted than before.

"You stupid, lying asshole!" she yelled, seemingly unaware that we weren't alone in the room. With a parting apologetic glance, Leah backed out of the room. I didn't blame her, in fact, I would have done the same if I could have. I sighed, because I had no desire at all to find out what she was on about, but had the feeling that I was going to anyway.

"What can I do for you, Rose?" I sighed.

"There is nothing you can do for me, you bastard. You already did it!"

"Look, this conversation is going to take a lot longer than I want it to if you don't tell me what it is that I've done to offend you so much."

"What you want means very little to me right now," she snapped, and I rolled my eyes.

"Just tell me what the problem is, Rose."

"This!" she cried, as she threw her phone at me. "This is the problem!"

I looked down at the phone in my hands to see a grainy picture, clearly taken with a cell phone. It was Bella and I, on what looked like the day I had met her after having lunch with Alice, kissing on a street corner. The caption of the picture was the date it was taken.

Shit.

"Where did you get this?" I asked impulsively.

"As it turns out," she started, her voice sickly sweet and in her usual passive aggressive style, "this picture has been making the rounds with the ladies I socialise with. Abby was in the village, god knows why, and spotted you then took this picture with her phone. You and your whore have turned me into a complete laughing stock! You gave me your holier-than-thou speech about how you were alright with the Emmett thing, you made me feel so _awful _for that, put so much guilt on me, and yet you were doing the exact same thing?!"

I said nothing, waiting for her to continue, as I knew she would. There was no point to me trying to pacify her.

"And don't think I don't know who that is. That is Bella Swan, the girl that Liam brought to the gala. I knew they weren't really together, anyone can spot from a mile away that he's gay, and the way she was looking at you, I can't believe I didn't realise it then. I was so _stupid_, and now you've embarrassed me, made me feel like a terrible person, all for nothing!"

I waited, and even when I realised that she'd finished, I still said nothing. That only seemed to make her angrier.

"Do you really have nothing to say for yourself?" she accused.

"Not really. You cheated on me for over a year."

"But I never got caught!" she exploded. I laughed sardonically as any guilt I felt evaporated at once.

"Is that really all that matters to you? Sure, you were never publicly outted, but we all knew. Why do you think Alice refused to even try to get along with you? Why do you think I was spending so much time in the city? Why do you think I _found someone else_?"

She had nothing to say to that but her expression twisted as her rage intensified.

"Yes, I should have told you. It was wrong of me to make you feel guilty, to not bring up my own wrongdoing. But, when we separated, I wasn't with Bella. We'd stopped seeing each other, and I didn't particularly want to discuss her with anyone, especially not with you. The way I see it, nothing has changed. We were both unfaithful, but no one needs to know, we can still end the marriage based on irreconcilable differences. No more harm has to be done."

"Everyone knows!" she yelled. "All of my friends, everyone I associate with has been laughing at me behind my back for over a month! What am I supposed to do?"

I thought for a moment before speaking. I had to say something to get her out of my hair, because I couldn't bear having her around a moment longer.

"Look, Rose, I apologise for embarrassing you, even though really, I don't owe you anything. You cheated, I cheated, we're even as far as I'm concerned. You can tell people that we were secretly separated before I was with Bella if that somehow makes you look any better, truthfully, I don't care. I trust though that you can contain this before anything gets to either of our mothers, because I would really like to avoid that if possible."

"It's too late for that. You should have thought about this _before_ you were making out on street corners with someone who's practically a child! You disgust me."

"Oh yeah Rose, because fucking the gardener is _so_ much better than what I did. At least you went one step up from the pool boy, but then again that's probably only because we don't have a pool." She recoiled from my harsh words, and I felt nothing for her. I could tell that this meeting hadn't gone the way she'd anticipated, and that brought me some vindictive satisfaction.

"And don't talk to me about being a child," I continued, "this display has been one of the most childish things I've ever witnessed in my life. Stop embarrassing yourself and leave before I have you removed from the building."

She laughed, the sound full of malice.

"You think this is bad? You have no idea what you're getting yourself into by doing this to me." With that, she turned on her heel, her overly coiffed hair flipping as she stalked out of the room.

I didn't know whether or not to laugh or punch a hole in my wall. Before I got the chance to do either, Tanya came in, looking over her shoulder dramatically.

"She's gone right?" she asked conspiratorially. "I don't want to be here when she whips out the chainsaw, I have a child at home."

I laughed despite my foul mood.

"I'm pretty sure she's gone, but only to return to her situation room and plan out her full scale assault on me. How much did you catch?"

"Bella is out of the bag, I take it?" she asked as she sat down opposite me. I nodded, dropping my face into my hands again.

"One of her friends got a picture of us together, and they've all been laughing at her behind her back for the past six weeks or so," I said, my voice muffled by my hands. Tanya burst out laughing.

"That's exactly what she deserves," she said as she slowed to a snicker.

"But now, she's on the warpath, and there's no telling what she's going to do."

"Tell her to go fuck herself."

"That's exactly what I'd do, but I'm worried she'd take it out on my family… or Bella."

"Hold up," Tanya stopped dead, putting her hands in the air, "Bella? Why are you worried about Bella, she's out of your life."

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" she mimicked, making no attempt to shield her curiosity. I braced myself for the onslaught, although I didn't really understand where my sudden fear was coming from.

"On Sunday morning, she came back. I opened my front door and there she was. She was a complete mess, but she was perfect, Tanya. I actually thought I was hallucinating her at first."

"Why did she come back?" There was no hiding the suspicion in her tone.

"She… well, you have to promise not to say anything."

"Cross my heart and hope to die." I knew she was lying as soon as the words left her mouth, but continued anyway.

"She was strung out, completely wrecked. She'd taken something, had a breakdown of some kind and Jasper and Alice had forced her to stay at their house so she wouldn't go home on her own. Alice gave her a talking to and she came to me."

I saw Tanya gearing up for a lecture and cut her off. "I know what it sounds like, but the reason she was like that… it was my fault. She was trying to force herself not to think about me, and she spent a month of her life high with her stupid fucking friends and damn near killed herself in the attempt."

"So… you let her into your house because you felt guilty?"

"Of course not!" I cried. "My guilt has nothing to do with it. I love her, I thought you of all people would understand that." I was angry now.

"Good. I was just making sure."

I rolled my eyes, I should have known. I explained Bella's illness, everything that happened up to our fight and how I'd left before she'd woken. I'd wholly been expecting Tanya to side with me, but by the end she was shaking her head with frustration.

"You are such a fucking idiot."

"What?"

"She's thinking exactly what I was: that you were acting out of guilt, and that with all of her craziness and junkie tendencies, your charity would run out and you'd toss her to the curb. I'm sure that coming down from a month long bender isn't exactly helping, and so she's panicked and acting out, hence the irrational comments regarding Rosalie. You, on the other hand, are of perfectly solid mind, and so, are an idiot for retaliating and hurting her feelings."

I don't know how she did it, but she was always able to get straight to the bottom of things that it took me an age, or more specifically a night spent tossing and turning on my couch, to figure out.

"So what do I do?"

"You go home tonight and hope like hell that she's still at your apartment. I suspect that she will be, but if I'm wrong, you're in big trouble."

"No shit. What then?"

"Can you really not do anything by yourself?" she asked feigning irritation. I knew she loved prying into other people's business.

"Fine, I'll work it out on my own."

After a minute of silence, I started musing aloud, in the hope that she would help me without me having to back and down and actually ask.

"So," I started, glancing at her intermittently, "I'll go back to the apartment. If she's not there, I'll head over to her apartment." Tanya nodded slightly, and I smirked on the inside. "I'll apologise profusely and then…"

"Make sure to look all dreamy and wounded, as is your way," she interjected.

"Dreamy and wounded, got it."

"And then?" she prodded.

"Well, I guess I'll find out when I get there." She smacked her hand over her face dramatically.

"You can't wing everything, Edward," she admonished me.

"You can't predict everything either."

"Just… don't yell at her, or remind her that she left you. It seems pretty damn apparent to me that she feels rather shit about that, so bringing it up probably won't do anyone much good."

"Point taken."

I somehow managed to get through the rest of the day without going completely insane from anticipation and worry, and rushed home as fast as I could, stopping only to pick up a bouquet of flowers because apparently, according to Tanya, all women loved flowers, even those who acted like they didn't. Something about a completely redundant gift, cut blooms that would die in a week, made girls happy. I didn't understand it, but if it would help, I would do it. I was under strict instructions not to buy roses because they were tacky even without the connotation, and so grabbed a bunch of mixed flowers, half of which I couldn't even identify, and hoped for the best.

I opened my front door hesitantly, feeling immediately better once I heard music floating through the house. It wasn't Alice's style of music at all, and that only left one person I could think of who had the ability to let themselves in and who wouldn't be in my bedroom, cutting up my clothes with a pair of garden shears borrowed from her lover.

I walked slowly through the house, noticing that a fantastic smell was coming from the kitchen, quite possibly for the first time ever. Confused, I entered, the flowers hanging from my hand. Bella hadn't seen me as yet, and seemed completely transfixed by whatever was on the stove in front of her. She was wearing her own clothes, which led me to think that she'd been home and come back, a comforting thought. Almost as comforting as the sliver of pale skin between her jumper and jeans. The one thing that didn't make sense was the cooking.

She sang, or more accurately, rapped along with the song, and I smiled at her. Her hips moved in time with the music as if she didn't even realise she was doing it. I watched her for a little bit as I took off my suit jacket, waiting for her to notice I was there. She didn't.

"Bella?" I questioned quietly and she jumped about a foot in the air before she quickly turned around.

"Edward! You scared me!" She took a deep breath and started speaking. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing in your house. I felt like such a asshole for what I said last night and I wanted to do something to say sorry because you weren't here when I woke up. You know I love you and I didn't mean it and I thought that if I cooked you dinner maybe you'd be less--"

She stopped rambling abruptly when she looked down and noticed the flowers by my side. A sly look took over her face when she realised that I was planning to apologise as well.

"What are those for?" she asked, poorly feigning innocence.

"These," I said, lifting up the flowers to present them to her, "are because I feel like an asshole for what I said to you last night. You know I love you and I didn't mean it."

"And you thought that if you brought me something pretty I'd forget all about it?" she questioned, crossing her arms across her chest to emphasise her annoyance.

"Yep," I said casually, "just like you thought cooking me dinner would make me forget all about it."

Her arms dropped from their position when she realised that I had her there. After a moment of silence she giggled and a gorgeous smile lit her face.

"Well, they definitely are pretty. No one's ever brought me flowers before, the only other time I can think of was when I got some daisies stolen from my next door neighbour's yard tied together with a hair elastic when I was 12."

She took the flowers, set them down on the kitchen bench carefully and then, with no warning, launched herself at me. Luckily for me, her tiny frame was easy to support so I caught her effortlessly as she wrapped her arms around my neck and latched her lips to mine.

I was gentle with her, because she still seemed a little weak, and if what I knew about drugs was accurate, she'd be a bit delicate for the next couple of days. She was by no means in full withdrawal, otherwise she would have been in bed, throwing up and shaking, not cooking me dinner and molesting me in my kitchen, but she was definitely not completely back to normal just yet. I suspected that it was more psychological than physical. Without breaking my lips from hers, I walked us over to the kitchen bench and then sat her down on it, pulling her away from me softly.

"Easy there, sailor," I chided gently. "You have to give me some warning before you jump me like that."

"Why," she asked, a taunting undertone to her voice, "can't support me, old man?"

"Hmm," I mused playfully, touching my thumb and forefinger to my chin as I pretended to think, "I'm fairly certain that several instances, one in particular involving the library at my country house proves that I can in fact hold you up, even when my attention is otherwise involved."

Her mouth fell open as I spoke, clearly not anticipating that particular memory to come up. After a moment of stunned silence, her jaw snapped shut.

"Then what's the problem with my jumping you whenever I feel so inclined?"

"Well, you need to take it easy for the next couple of days, and throwing yourself around the room isn't really consistent with that," I said, quietening my voice so as not to sound condescending. She frowned.

"Edward, I'm fine, really."

"Sorry, but it's going to take more than an attempted molestation for me to be assured of that," I said sadly, because truthfully, all I wanted was for her to be fine so I could show her exactly how much I'd missed her. "I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but I care about you, and I won't risk your wellbeing if I can possibly avoid it."

"But sexy times with you are paramount to my wellbeing," she argued and I very nearly broke.

"Bella, please, the begging is going to kill me."

"Ugh, fine," she said dismissively as she turned back to the food and I hid my relief that she wasn't going to continue pleading. "You're not even that good in bed anyway."

"Sorry, what?" I asked, completely dumbfounded. She turned around, a cheeky expression on her face.

"You heard me," she challenged. For a split second I was going to throw her over my shoulder, drag her into my bedroom and show her exactly how wrong she was, but then realised that that was precisely what she wanted. I scowled.

"Don't think that I'm going to break that easily, princess. I see straight through your reverse psychology, and I'm not going to be tricked into showing you exactly how good I am in bed."

"You're not worth the effort of a proper scam anyway," she dismissed me as she bent over to pick up some plates and the view of her ass almost caused me to break yet again. I wasn't even sure that she knew what she was doing to me, and yet, I felt like I was about to pass out. A smirk crossed my face as a plan came to me.

"So you're saying that even when you're back in top form, you won't want to waste your time having sex with me?" I baited her. She nodded, clearly not understanding where I was leading with this.

"Alright, fine. If sex means so little to you, you can just… go without."

Her eyes widened despite her attempt at a poker face, and I could tell that she hadn't expected this outcome, but was too proud to back down.

"What are you saying?" she clarified.

"What I'm saying is, you've made it quite clear that you don't want to have sex with me anymore." Lie. "And if you don't want to do, then I most certainly don't want to have sex with you." Lie. "Therefore, if we're ever going to have sex again, you're going to have to ask for it. I won't trouble you any more."

Bella was fairly impressive at hiding her true feelings, but I was better. Every time I said the word 'sex', her eyes flashed, and I could almost see the dirty thoughts shooting through her mind.

"So you don't want me either?" she asked.

"Not if you don't want me," I told her, keeping the straightest face possible. I could plainly see the thinly veiled horror on her expression.

"We'll see about that," she said arrogantly. "You want me something awful," she taunted. She was absolutely right, but I needed to buy myself a few days until she was back in peak form, and this contest would allow me exactly that.

"Fine then. First one to break loses."

"Game on," she said confidently.

What she didn't realise was that I'd already won.

**AN: Twitter me up, ladies. I want to see you floozies over there. I always thought it was lame, but as it turns out, I was wrong. So ve****ry wrong. My name thing is ****netracullen. Go on, do it. I tweet while drunk, if that sweetens the deal ;)**

**ps. Fangmom, hope you enjoyed my gross misuse of your name. There was a reason I wouldn't tell you what I was using it for :P**


	23. Chapter 23

Kings Of Leon - Charmer

**Bella POV**

I was pissed.

Horny as all hell, and pissed.

There was only one person to blame for my situation: Edward. More specifically, the fact that Edward had manipulated me, used my arrogant nature against me to trick me into some kind of sex embargo, because he was an asshole. It was day four of our agreement, that whoever broke first and asked for sex lost, and I truly felt as if I was about to die. At first, I'd somewhat understood his reluctance, because to be honest, I was acting like a bit ofa crackhead. I'd be full of energy and blissfully happy one moment, then irrationally pissed off and tired the next. My energy levels, and personality were all over the place for the first couple of days, but I was completely fine now. We both knew that it was no longer my physical issues that were leading our decision not to be together, it was purely our egos standing in our way. It had been hard enough to deal without the unbelievable sex when he hadn't been around, but with him around me almost all the time, looking and smelling like that and just being himself, it was agony. Four days of crippling, mind-bending agony. In truth, I was a little ashamed of myself that my self control was so poor, but I rationalised that anyone who had a boyfriend like mine would feel the same way.

Boyfriend.

Bleh. Couldn't someone come up with another term for it? It just felt so... junior high. And there was no way in hell I was going to call him my lover, or my gentleman friend, or any of that dodgy shit. Life partner sounded stupid as well. Nope, I'd just have to wait until someone came up for a new term for the back-breakingly-handsome-and-sexy-and-articulate-and-all-around-perfect-man-who,-I-loved-and-for-some-reason-her-enjoyed-sharing-his-time-and-fuckhot-body-with-me.

The only solace I was able to derive from the no-sex situation was that Edward was suffering right along with me. He thought that he was being subtle about it, but he always got this look in his eye when he was thinking something dirty, and the simplest things would trigger him, so I persisted. Actually, persisted was something of an understatement. I went out of my way to make things difficult for him. And despite his best efforts, I knew it was working.

"Bella, can you put some clothes on that actually fit you?" he asked, irritation on the surface of his voice, but desperation just underneath it. Sucker.

"No, why?" I asked, not turning back as I walked away from him, swinging my hips deliberately. I had taken to wearing little boy-cut underwear and his half-unbuttoned work shirts whenever we were at his house, because he once expressed his preference for it. Apparently me wearing his clothes just made him want to tear them off me, and what was said as a passing dirty comment had become the crux of my strategy.

"It's just you," I continued, "and you don't want to have sex with me, so it's fine. You're like… Liam, or something, it doesn't matter if I'm naked around you."

I had to stop myself from laughing aloud, and though I didn't turn to see his face, I could only imagine what it would have looked like in that moment. Really, I should have felt guilty, but I knew that he was pulling the exact same shit with me. Although the game had started as a test of our stamina, of how long we could wait, it had turned into us trying to perpetually one-up each other, see who could force the others hand.

Because he was clever, he knew that transparent attempts at seduction, namely all the things I was doing to him, wouldn't work on me. Instead, he was ignoring me completely, acting like I was his sister or something, trying to cold shoulder me until I begged for attention. If I hadn't caught on early that he probably had Tanya coaching him, it would have worked without a doubt. Well, that and the fact that the man couldn't help but stare at my ass whenever the opportunity presented itself.

"I'm… did you just say I'm like _Liam_?" he growled. I swivelled back around to face him, and he looked very pissed off. Victory was imminent, I could almost taste it.

"Yep, you don't want me, so I can be naked if I want. In fact, I think I just might." With an easy smile on my face, I unbuttoned the two buttons holding the shirt together and let it slide off my shoulders onto the floor. His eyes followed the fabric as it fell, then slid back up my almost completely exposed form before coming back to my face, and he looked even more irritated then before. He was breaking, we both knew it. Now all I had to do was run the last phase of my strategy, which I had been saving for this exact moment. If it didn't work, I was going to have to give up, because my pride and my libido were warring and it was fucking exhausting.

"Well," I sighed, "as fun as this conversation has been, I'm feeling…" I pretended to deliberate over my phrasing, "tense." I glanced down at the floor, trying to make it look like I was somewhat embarrassed about my admission. "Not that you'll really care," I said, knowing just exactly how false that statement was, "but I'll be in the bedroom for the next maybe… half hour or so, and I'd appreciate some privacy."

His eyes narrowed as he tried to make sense of my words.

"What are you going to do in the bedroom that would make you less tense?" he asked suspiciously and I shrugged as innocently as I could. A moment later, his eyes shot open and his jaw went slack. He looked absolutely violated when he realised what it was that I was going to do.

"No," he said bluntly.

"No, what?" I asked, dripping innocence from my voice.

"You're cheating. That's cheating," he insisted. I crossed my arms over my chest and his eyes went straight to my now pressed up cleavage.

"There was nothing in the rules about…self-help. It isn't my first preference, but you clearly aren't interested, so…" I turned away from him, making my way slowly to the bedroom. I counted my steps as I walked. I counted out four before I heard movement behind me. Before I could reach seven, I felt a hand wrap around my wrist and spin me around, and then Edward's lips latch onto my own. Without thinking my hands shot up into his hair, pulling his face to mine with an almost embarrassing degree of desperation.

He lifted me up and carried me the remaining distance before tossing me down on the bed then losing his shirt and pants while I watched, utterly transfixed by him. He looked ravenous, a man possessed, and I had never been more turned on in my life. I scrambled up the bed and he swiftly followed, holding himself over me, his lower half touching mine, and I could feel that he wanted this just as badly as I did.

"Liam, huh?" he growled and I giggled.

"Hey, you're welcome to prove me wrong," I offered. "All you have to do is ask."

"I'm not going to ask you," he said, his voice decisive, and a part of me died as I realised that I was going to have to give in. There was no way I was going to walk away from this. "I'm going to tell you, loud and clear. Right now, I am going to have my way with you until you are no longer able to walk, or say anything other than my name."

My eyes actually rolled back into my head based on his words alone. He pulled back from me and look in my almost naked, trembling body laid out before him.

"Are we clear, Bella?"

All I could do was nod frantically before I reached up and pulled his face back to mine. His hands moved immediately to my panties, and as he pulled at them, I heard a seam tear. I didn't think that actually happened in real life, but apparently skanky, lacy underwear and extremely horny, gorgeous men don't go well together, not that I gave a flying fuck in that moment. I lifted my ass off the bed to help him remove what I assumed to be the tattered remains of my underwear, and he tore them down my legs with an aggression that had me almost dizzy with want.

Much to my irritation, my need for oxygen got the better of me, and I was forced to remove my mouth from his. Much to my happiness however, his lips stayed on me, sliding down my jaw line to the valley between my breasts and then dragging back up to my collar bones. His movements were aggressive but I was matching his intensity, my fingernails clawing at his shoulders and back. I couldn't believe all the time we'd wasted, and I just wanted to smack myself in the mouth for being so proud, and him, for letting me go along with this asinine plan. But instead, all I could do was pull him closer, tug on his hair, his arms, anything I could reach to have his skin on mine.

"So Bella," he said as he slowly pulled away from me, kneeling between my legs and infuriating me by putting himself just out of my reach. His voice was deep and quiet, almost menacing, and I knew that he was going to drag this out. I whined, trying to wordlessly beg him not to do what I knew he was going to do regardless.

"Did you think it was fun, teasing me like this for four fucking days?" he growled. As he spoke, he trailed his hands up my legs, and a flash of heat followed his fingertips. He looked at my legs, not my face as he spoke, watching his hands move with intense focus. I said nothing, because I suspected that there was nothing I could say that wouldn't make him drag this out further. It was almost as if he was talking to himself, not realising that I was present.

"Walking around in my shirts, my almost see-through shirts with nothing but your tiny little underwear underneath," he continued as his hands traced my thighs and then over my hip bones, "knowing exactly what it does to me to see you looking like that." His fingers pressed a little harder as his voice got darker, and I was about to faint. My senses were completely overloaded, he was everywhere. My eyes fluttered closed to try and fight the slight dizziness he was eliciting, but even without sight, the sound of his voice and the feel of his hands was almost too much. A breathy, desperate sound came from my lips, which I was holding together with all of my strength to stop me from screaming.

"You taunted me mercilessly," he went on as his fingers wrapped around my thighs, pulling them apart and exposing me to him completely. Self-consciousness was long gone at this point, I barely noticed. "You were just cruel, Bella." The way my name rolled off his tongue drove me to near frenzied.

"Edward, please," I choked out.

He finally looked up and met my eyes, smirking at the unbridled desperation in them.

"Please what, Bella?" he asked, and although his voice remained the same dark tone, there was condescension riddled through it. He was enjoying this. My hands fisted into his sheets as I tried to fight the urge to hit him.

"Stop… teasing me," I ground out through clenched teeth and his smirk widened.

"It's not fun to get a taste of your own medicine, is it princess?" he asked before running his fingers up the length of my slit. I shuddered, almost overwhelmed by the tiny amount of contact. He ran his fingers up and down a couple of times, grazing over my clit, his touch agonisingly gentle. With each pass, the pressure increased infinitesimally, but still, never enough to do anything other than taunt me. A frustrated sigh escaped my mouth that he didn't acknowledge.

Keeping his torturously slow pace, he leaned back down over me, pressing his lips softly to mine. For some reason, his slow, gentle movements had even more intensity than our frantic ones from moments before, as my anticipation started to boil over. Each time I tried to deepen the kiss, he would pull away from me, slowly lowering his mouth back to my own, punishing me for my hastiness. As frustrating as it was, it was unbelievably hot, so I eventually bent to his will and accepted his pace.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally increased the pace and pressure of his fingers so that they became pleasurable rather than taunting and I groaned, a deep, animalistic sound that in any other circumstance would have embarrassed the life out of me. He pulled his lips from mine, sliding them down my jaw and dragging his teeth along my earlobe before whispering in my ear.

"See, good things come to those who wait," he murmured before he kissed my earlobe again and continued on a trail of wet kisses and soft bites down my throat and across my collar bones. My hips shifted closer to his hand, urging him on as I struggled to regulate my breathing for fear that a fainting spell would put an immediate halt on our fun. I failed quickly and absolutely.

I made another strange noise when he slipped one and then two fingers inside me, while still rubbing my clit with his thumb. I heard his quiet chuckle against my throat but simply couldn't bring myself to care.

"Having fun there, princess?" he cooed, and I nodded, a little frantically.

"Pardon?" he prodded.

"Yes," I hissed as his fingers curved up slightly, "it feels… fuck…"

I gave up trying to verbalise my feelings at that moment, instead relying on my jagged breaths and strange noises to express it. I ran my hands roughly through my hair, tugging at the roots in an attempt to outlet the tension threatening to overwhelm me. I was teetering dangerously close to finally getting the first proper release I'd had in over a month when Edward's pace slowed down.

"Bella?" he asked, and I forced my eyes open, and I'm sure I had a furious expression on my face. He was mercilessly keeping me right on the edge, just off my orgasm, and I wasn't sure if I loved him or hated him at that point.

"Yes?" I choked and then made a tragic whining noise as his hand stopped altogether, pulling away from me.

"I'm sorry, princess," he soothed, "but I want to feel you come on my dick."

And just like that, he was forgiven. Without giving him any warning or opportunity to fuck with me again, I grabbed his shoulders and pushed my lips harshly against his. He wrapped an arm hastily around my waist and I moved to push off his boxers, and I almost wanted to laugh with sheer happiness that we were finally naked together again. Using his free hand he reached for a condom in the bedside drawer, swiftly tearing it open and rolling it over his length. If I hadn't been so desperately horny, I would have taken a moment to reacquaint myself with his body, but rationalised that I'd have plenty of time for that later.

Without breaking the kiss, he pushed my body back down into the pillows before reaching for my hips, pulling them up towards him. I braced myself and a moment later felt the familiar but still overwhelming electricity that I always felt whenever I was with him like this. He sank into me slowly but purposefully, letting out a quiet groan as he did so that blended perfectly with my own moan.

"Jesus," he murmured, waiting a moment before slowly withdrawing then sinking back in. All the desperation and savageness had evaporated, replaced with a near silent, but crushing intensity. I felt like we were submerged in our own bubble, like everything outside of the two of us was blurred and distant, not really there. A long, quiet moan left my mouth that was cut off by his lips reattaching to mine, no force behind them, simply attaching us in any way he could. My arms moved to his shoulders, pulling him as close to me as possible and pressing our chests together.

Pleasure coursed through me in waves, building and peaking with each passing one. There was nothing hasty about this, we were enjoying each other, reuniting ourselves, and I certainly didn't want to rush the experience. I pried my eyes open, desperate to see him, only to meet his gaze. Rather than being awkward, this seemed only to heighten to burgeoning tension between us, bringing it to a new level.

"I love you," I blurted out without thinking. Rather than wait to see if he freaked out, I slid my fingers into his hair and pulled his face to mine, kissing him passionately. I'd said it before, that wasn't my concern, but in that moment to be so overwhelming as it was, I didn't want to ruin things with my big mouth. He pulled his lips from mine, brushing them down my jaw to my ear.

"I love you too, Bella," he said, his voice gravely, "so, so fucking much." Edward had quite the dirty mouth on him when the mood struck, but this, those words said to me so quietly and earnestly, shot straight through my system and my body began to tremble. I placed my hands on his face, holding his eyes as best I could as I felt myself tumbling over the edge of my release. Just at the very peak, I pulled my face up to his, kissing him with as much passion and intensity as I could muster. A weak cry left my mouth, only to be muffled by his lips, and my hands dropped from his face to his shoulders, clutching him to me with as much force as I could.

As I came down from my orgasm I held onto him, kissing every part of him I could reach, his face, jaw, shoulders, anything I could access without relinquishing my hold on him. After a short time, I felt his strokes lose their consistency slightly and a heard the familiar groan that signified he had also reached his peak. The very sound of it made me smile, I had missed it to an almost insane degree. His movements slowed until he was still above me, and yet, neither of us moved, simply holding onto each other, refusing to let the moment end.

Eventually, his gentlemanly impulses got the better of him and he moved off of me, disposing of the condom and then pulling my body on top of his. We were both sweaty and gross, but I simply didn't care, relishing the feel of his skin on mine. After an extended, but comfortable silence, I finally spoke.

"I cannot believe," I started, faux accusation in my tone, "that you let me spend four days dicking around and missing out on that."

"Hey," he defended, "it was your own fault."

"Well, at least I won."

"Excuse me?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"You broke, which means I win," I informed him a little smugly.

"No, the terms of our arrangement clearly stated that I had to ask you for sex in order to lose. I never once asked, did I?" he said, even more smug than I had been. "In fact, you were the one who asked me to stop teasing and get on it with it." I thought it over for a moment, and damn it, he was right.

"This is what I get for dating a lawyer, isn't it?" I asked morosely and felt him nod. "How about we call it a tie?" I suggested. He sighed.

"Alright, we can call it a tie."

I lifted my head off his chest to kiss him then rested it back down.

"That was… different," I mused as his fingers ran through my hair, fiddling idly with the ends.

"Different how?" he asked, knowing that I was referring to the sex and not our petty conversation.

"I don't know… it was intense, different to all the other times." I wasn't really sure what I was trying to say, but he nodded and I knew that he got it, despite my nonsensical ramblings. His hands stroked up and down my back, running feather-light patterns that made me feel like purring or something.

"So… good different, I take it?" he clarified. I snorted.

"Stop fishing for compliments."

He laughed, the sound filling his chest and vibrating against the side of my head. After he stopped laughing, there was a pregnant pause.

"I think…" he mused, "that it was different because we're different now. Everything's different. You're finally mine, as I am finally yours. There's nothing in the way, we can do this now. One would assume that that information would have some impact on us. The walls are down now, we can experience everything we couldn't before."

"Maybe… or maybe I was just so horny that I couldn't deal with it," I shot back.

"Delightful."

"I'm kidding, peaches," I soothed him, and he groaned. "I think you're right. We're different now. I like it."

"Either that or it was just some kind of fluke," he offered and I giggled as I reached for his bedside table.

"Well," I said thoughtfully as I ripped the condom packet I'd grabbed open with my teeth, " I think there's only one way to find out."

"And what, exactly, is that?" he asked lowly.

"Research."

**AN: Reviewers make better lovers. I'm not making that up, it's science.**

**Add me on twitter! netracullen is my name thingy, and I'm hopelessly addicted to it now, and tweeting like a mofo. Even when drunk. Especially when drunk.**


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Ok so I loved all your skeezy comments about 'research', they brought on some serious lols from me... you girls are just great, exactly the type of people I wrote this mofo for. **

**I'd also like to bring to your attention that I have officially written 100,000 words for this story.... whoa. I'm gonna look back on the time i spent doing this on my deathbed and think to myself... time well spent.**

Cage The Elephant - Ain't No Rest For The Wicked

**Edward POV**

Being with Bella again had put me in a near euphoric state, to the point where I was almost embarrassed by the effect the girl had on my disposition. I tried as best I could to act casual around her, but the reality was that having her around again, in my life, in my house, and in my bed, made me almost too happy to deal with rationally. She seemed to be trying to hide it from me as well, and if I was hiding it as successfully as she was, I was a much shittier liar than I gave myself credit for. She was almost glowing, and it made me smug every time I saw her.

I was still going to work, although it was a struggle to pry myself away, and partaking in most of my normal daily activities, but we were spending literally every moment we could together, reacquainting ourselves with one another, and not just physically, although there certainly was a lot of that. I wanted to make sure that I had every single detail of her committed into the recesses of my mind, be positive that I had missed none of the minute changes to her that had occurred over our separation. There wasn't a lot, but I wasn't taking the chance.

It took me about 10 days and a phone call from my sister to realise that outside of our little bubble, things weren't going so well. When she rang, I was sitting in my office, pretending to work but in reality exchanging increasingly perverse texts with my girlfriend. The title seemed rather juvenile for a man my age, but it would have to do until I changed it, and we were nowhere near ready for anything of that nature, even discounting her age as a factor. Alice's voice had been clipped and distant, my gloatingly happy tone not enough to distract her from insisting that we meet as soon as I could make time, which meant that I had to cancel my plan to work through lunch and bail as early as possible to see her for lunch.

I huddled into my coat as I walked the couple of blocks to the place she'd chosen for us to meet, resenting the cold wind that was making it very difficult for me to light the cigarette that would help to calm me when the onslaught began. I finally got it lit and relished the warm smoke as it moved down my throat.

"Put that out. Right now."

I turned slowly, despite knowing exactly who it was who was giving me the instruction. When I met her eyes, I rolled mine and took another drag.

"Alice, I'm a grown man, I can do whatever I like."

"No, you're an idiot, and you will put that out right now."

I sighed, knowing that this was a losing battle. I briefly toyed with the idea of holding it above my head and out of her reach, and as if she knew, she snatched it from me, threw it to the floor and stepped on it.

"If that marked my boots, you're replacing them," she told me sternly. With another sigh I held the café door open for her and she walked under my arm without a word. She took a seat at a table of her choosing, and I followed mutely, knowing that toying with her today probably wasn't wise. She didn't look at me as she barked a coffee order at the slightly fearful looking young waitress and then took off her coat and scarf. Suddenly, she turned back decisively to give me a scathing look.

"I told you," she said coldly. "I told you when this started what it would do to the family if it got out. And look what you've done. Congratulations, Edward, you've royally fucked us all over because you can't keep it in your pants long enough to think before you molest Miss Teen Homewrecker on a street corner."

"And on that heartwarming note, I'm leaving," I told her as I picked up my coat. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

"No, you're not. I'm sorry, that was rude, but I just hate being dragged into this bullshit."

"Can you just explain to me what the fuck you're talking about, please?" The way she'd opened our conversation did not make me eager to wade through her cryptic comments. "I assume this has something to do with the picture of Bella and I."

"You know about that?" she asked, a little surprised.

"I do, Rosalie was kind enough to throw a tantrum in the middle of my office, during which she showed me the picture."

"When?"

"Last week."

"You've known about this for over a week?"

I nodded.

"You fucking -- ugh, there's not even a point to me telling you off now, even though I really, _really_ want to. What's done is done. To cut a long story short, more or less everyone Esme associates with has seen the picture, and that puts her, and by extension, all of us in a very awkward position. Mom and I have discussed it, and we decided that -"

"Wait, you two have _decided_? Decided what? Thank you so much for including me in the discussions about my life."

"I was getting to that. We think it would be best to put on some kind of show of solidarity. Do something to show everyone that we approve of Bella and that we aren't embarrassed by all of this, even though Esme is devastated that her golden boy as been painted to look like an adulterer and a cradle-snatcher."

I rolled my eyes at her hyperbole, which in reality wasn't really hyperbole at all.

"Why do you even care about what they think? I certainly don't."

"I don't give a flying fuck about them, but Esme does, and I love our mother enough to wade through the shitstorm you've created if I can make this better for her. Not everyone is as self-centred as you are."

"Alright, alright," I backed down, "enough with the guilt trip. What do you need?" I just wanted to cut the bullshit and find out what it was that she wanted from me that could make this better for our mother. I did feel guilty that it was having a negative impact on her, and of course wanted to help if I could.

"Ok, there's a function the day after Thanksgiving, one of the usual boring do's. Jasper and I are going to go, much to my irritation, and you are going to bring Bella. We're going to play happy families, make it look like we're all closer than ever and that she is at the centre of our happy little bunch."

I just wanted to smack my head on the table in front of me. This sounded like the worst possible solution to the problem, to parade Bella around in front of people who thought the worst of her and who loved -read: feared- my ex-wife. I gave Alice a look that made my feelings on the plan quite clear, and she rolled her eyes at me.

"It's either that or we go digging for proof that Rosalie was cheating before, which would be much messier and uglier than necessary. Esme and Carlisle hold enough sway that if they show everyone that you and Bella are ok, other people will accept it. Just do it for Esme. She'd never ask you herself, and that's why I'm here."

I sighed. Alice's guilt trips never failed, and I could feel myself bending to her will. I had never intended for my actions to have a negative fall out for my family, and really, it was my responsibility to set it right. I just wished it didn't have to include putting Bella's happiness on the line.

"Ok, I'll ask her."

"You can't just ask her. She has to do this. I know it sucks and these people are awful, but it's the only real option we have."

"I will ask her, Alice. I'm not going to bully or trick her into a situation that is most likely going to be intensely unpleasant for the both of us. Not to mention having her first proper interaction with my family under these circumstances is definitely less than ideal."

"Alright, fine," she groaned. "Give me her number. If she agrees to this, and I certainly hope she does, I'll call her, help to dress her for the event, and I'll bring Esme along. She can meet her, be her delightful charming self, the girl you fell in love with, blah blah blah, and then the event won't be the first time they properly interact."

I thought it over for a few moments, and decided it was probably the best offer I'd get. I nodded slowly.

"Alright, I'll put it to her and let you know."

"And please, please make sure that if she's meeting Esme, she doesn't turn up looking like she follows the Motley Crue tour bus. The ripped stockings will have to go." The legitimately distressed look on my sister's face actually made me laugh, temporarily breaking through the tense atmosphere between us.

"You can tell her yourself. I can't find fault with anything about the girl."

She made a gagging noise.

"You used to be cool, Alice," I said nostalgically. "Do you remember that?"

"I'm still cool," she shot straight back, "I've just grown up since we were high school kids, unlike you."

I reached out to ruffle her hair and her tiny hand shot up to wrap around my wrist.

"Put that down. Right now."

"Jeez, Alice, calm down. Put the mommy voice on hold, for the love of god."

"I will when you stop acting like my child."

I slowly lowered my hand, but as soon as she let it go I shot it straight back up to muss her hair. She made a whining noise that I hadn't heard from her since she was about 15 and I couldn't help but laugh again.

"I hate you, do you know that?" she asked.

"Liar. Now, what are you ordering me for lunch today?"

She smirked and picked up a menu.

* * *

Unfortunately, or extremely fortunately depending on your perspective, Bella had decided to let herself into my apartment and greet me after work by laying naked across my dining table, and so I didn't get the chance to discuss a meeting with Alice with her in my somewhat distracted state. It was only when I was making coffee the next morning and looked at my phone that I realised I had forgotten to talk to her.

**E - Well? What did she say? - A**

**A - I'll ask her now. - E**

**E - You're an idiot. Why didn't you ask her last night?- A**

I chuckled to myself as I tried to think of an excuse to feed my sister, but she beat me to the punch.

**E - Actually, don't tell me. Just let me know when you finally do speak to her. - A**

**A - Yeah, yeah, I'll talk to her now. - E**

**E - Unless you get distracted again. Ew, don't reply to that. - A**

I laughed again at her theatrics and then looked up from my phone, only to see Bella enter the kitchen, clad in a lace bra and a black high-waisted skirt that cut off midway down her thighs. I almost dropped my phone at the very sight of her. I groaned, the sound catching her attention, and she smirked as she noticed my gawking.

"Jesus, Bella," I pleaded, "are you physically capable of wearing clothes around my house? Do you enjoy taunting me?" She simply laughed at me as she moved to my side to get her own coffee.

"I had to blow dry my hair and I didn't want my shirt to get wet. I can't help it if your mind permanently resides in the gutter."

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. Her hair smelled fantastic, like strawberries. I'd started stocking her toiletries in my bathroom as an incentive for her to have more sleepovers here, and to my pleasure, it was working.

"Excuses, excuses," I dismissed her between kisses, and she giggled again as she shoved at my chest. Reluctantly, I let her go and moved to take a seat at the kitchen table, gesturing to my lap in a wordless invitation that she accepted.

"What's up?" she asked casually, toying the end of my tie absently.

"I have a favour to ask of you."

"Shoot."

I recounted back to her the whole story, starting from Rosalie's visit all the way through to my conversation with Alice. By the end of my story she looked extremely unhappy, and I understood completely.

"Bella, I'm so sorry to put this on you, really. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. We'll figure out something else."

"Of course I'll do it. This whole thing is my fault."

"No," I said firmly, "it isn't. I really wanted to keep you out of all of this drama, but it seems that I can't. I wouldn't ask this of you but it's important to my parents and Alice, and I feel terrible that they've been dragged into this because of my foolish mistake."

"Mistake?" she said, her voice oddly forlorn. It took me a second to realise why.

"You're not a mistake, Bella, you know that's not what I mean. What I meant was that I've gone about this whole thing all wrong, and now the people I love, namely my family and you, are suffering as a result. I'd like to fix it if I can."

She sighed.

"You're like a real life superhero sometimes, do you know that?" she asked, completely seriously. I scoffed.

"Oh yeah, Bella. Was it the flying that tipped you off, or the telepathy?"

"Seriously, you go around righting wrongs and saving damsels in distress."

"Writing wrongs I created. And as the for the damsels, more accurately damsel singular, she wouldn't have been in distress if not for me."

"You know that's not true, I'm at train wreck all on my own," she persisted.

"But my entry and exit from your life triggered all kinds of mayhem, did it not?"

"Fine," she agreed grudgingly, "you're evil, a real minion of Satan. I'm bored of this conversation." Without another word, she swivelled in my lap and pressed her lips to mine. My hands moved straight to her ass, pulling her closer to me and her hands moved into my hair. It was a few moments before I realised that I hadn't gotten an answer from her.

"Wait," I said around her lips, and she pulled back slightly.

"Wait?" she asked, confused. "You've never rejected me before. I don't think I like it."

"Bella, I've never rejected you because it's a physical impossibility for me. I wasn't rejecting, I was making sure that before you distracted me completely I got an answer from you, because Alice will have my ass if I don't."

She giggled at the mention of my at times militaristic sister, knowing full well what she was capable of even in their short interactions.

"Well," she said thoughtfully, scratching her nails across my scalp as she pretended to think, and smirking when my head fell back. She knew exactly what that did to me. "I'll definitely go to the dinner thing or whatever if it makes things better for your family. Honestly, my hands are kind of tied, because I'd look like a total bitch if I didn't, and I don't want your parents hating me. They seemed so nice when I met them."

"I forgot that you met them once."

"Yeah, the whole time I was thinking that if you knew, you'd be laughing your ass off. It was actually really weird."

"Weird how?" Suddenly, I was intensely curious to know what she thought of my family.

"Well, did you know that your eyes are the exact shape and colour of your mom's?"

"I've been told that before."

"Like, to a strange extent. And you get your hair from her I assume?"

I nodded and waited for her to continue her analysis.

"And you know the weird smirky thing you do that I always give you shit for?"

"The one that I know you actually love."

"Yeah, that one," she agreed, blushing a little at being caught out. "Did you know that your dad does the exact same one?"

"I never noticed."

"Yeah, it was copied directly into his face… or your face I suppose, because you're younger."

I was completely captivated by her musing, and a little surprised that she was so observant. She'd only spoken to them for a few moments at best, and yet she'd picked up so much about them.

"And," she continued, "he has the same jaw line as you," she noted as she traced a fingertip down the jaw line she was referring to. "I hope you age as well as he does."

"What are you saying?" I asked suspiciously.

"I'm saying that your dad is really hot," she said without missing a beat. She caught one look at my completely dumbfounded expression and burst out laughing.

"Well that's that, you're not coming anywhere near them ever again," I said decisively. She only laughed harder.

"You know you're the only one for me, peaches," she soothed and I scowled before looking at the floor petulantly. "Your dad's just fun to look at, don't worry about it."

"I'm very worried about it," I sulked and she put her finger under my chin, forcing my face up to hers.

"Edward, I love you."

"I love you too. Just don't hit on my dad."

"I'll make no promises," she teased before she kissed me, effectively making me forget all about her sleazy comments regarding my father. I was forced to pull away from her much sooner than I would have liked so that she could get to the gallery. It was probably the only thing that would have stopped me from turning our kissing into something more, but it was her first day back at work, and I didn't want her to be late considering how generous Alistair had been about letting her return. Bella didn't know this, but Jasper had put in a phone call to seal the deal on my request. I knew how much she loved her job, and wanted to help her out anyway I could, but knew her pride would have gotten in the way had I told her.

"Alright, princess, as fun as this is, you have to go," I mumbled through her persistent efforts to deepen our kissing.

"No, let's just stay here forever," she muttered back. I laughed and gently pushed her shoulders back, putting her out of reach of my mouth. She scowled at me but relented, climbing up off my lap.

"Alright, alright, no need to be so pushy," she grumbled as she combed through her now ruffled hair with her fingers.

"Someone has to be the adult here," I teased and she smacked my arm. She darted into the bedroom and emerged a few moments later having completed her outfit with stockings, a top tucked into her skirt and some little boot things that made her legs look phenomenal. She noticed me staring and twirled on the spot, letting me absorb the full picture.

"I think you should work for me," I told her completely seriously.

"And what would my occupation be?" she asked, a smile on my face.

"You can just stand in my office, looking like that all day."

She laughed.

"It wasn't a joke," I told her as I held out her jacket to her. She walked over and slid her arms into it, fluffing her hair out over the top. I pulled on my own jacket and opened the door, letting her pass under my arm.

"I'm pressing the button this time!" she announced as soon as the door was closed and started running down the hall.

"Over my dead body!" I called and we raced down the short hall to the elevator shaft, playfully fighting over who would press the button. She smacked my hand down and pushed it, looking very pleased with herself.

"You cheated," I informed her.

"You're such a bad loser," she mocked me. Just as I was about to kiss the arrogance right off her face, the doors opened to reveal one of my elderly neighbours standing in the lift with a sour look on her face, clutching her purse. We calmed ourselves and entered quietly, standing side by side behind the lady, who had refused to move back for us. I could hear Bella's muffled giggles the whole ride, and tried very hard not to laugh myself when the woman turned around and shot us both a glare.

We emerged from the lift, and Bella waved happily at Amir, who responded with a grimace and then quickly looked away.

"One of these days, he'll crack," she whispered conspiratorially to me.

"I'm telling you, he won't."

"We'll see," she said smugly.

"That we will," I responded just as smugly. I leaned down to kiss her goodbye and we headed our separate ways, me for work, her for the subway. As I walked, I texted Alice.

**A - I spoke to her, she said yes. - E**

**E - Of course she did, I'm delightful. - A**

**A - Let me assure you, your temperament did absolutely nothing to convince her. It was all me and my irresistible charm ;) - E**

**E - Really, ew. You're just gross. I'm your sister, I don't want to hear that shit. - A**

**A - That's not what I meant, pervert. - E**

**E - Regardless, I need her number so we can plan our shopping trip. - A**

I sent her the number as I walked into my office, waving absently at Leah on my way in. When Tanya made her daily visit to my office to irk me, I was more accommodating than I usually was, because I had a couple of questions for her. I ran her through Alice's proposition, which strangely she agreed was the best course of action. Perhaps it was a girl thing, because all the women who knew about it thought it was a good idea, whereas I thought it was completely asinine and could very easily blow up in all of our faces.

"It's a pride thing," Tanya explained. "They all want to look like they're not embarrassed by what has transpired, because if they show weakness, all those coyotes who call themselves socialites will tear them to shreds. It also makes a statement to Rosalie, that her actions, her playing the victim, will not be tolerated. It'll be good for Bella to step up and let people know that she's not your quiet little sex slave, that she's in this for keeps. It's a powerplay, and a good one at that. That sister of yours was always a thinker. And a great dresser."

When it was explained to me like that, it made a fraction more sense than it had initially.

"Stop drooling over my baby sister," I told her.

"It's not my fault everyone close to you is so attractive. Pity you had to be the weak link there," she teased, and poked her tongue out at my horrified expression.

"Speaking of that," I started hesitantly, then chickened out. "Actually, don't worry."

"What is it?" she prodded when I busied myself with the papers on my desk. "Tell me!"

"Is my… do I have a hot father?" I blurted out. There was a moment's pause and she burst out laughing. "I know you're the wrong person to be asking about this, what with your preference for tits," I back pedalled, "but I'm curious."

When she'd finally calmed her laughter and wiped the tear from her cheek, she took a deep breath before responding.

"I'm sorry, but yeah, your dad is a total dilf."

"Dilf?" I asked, completely shocked.

"Dad I'd Like to --"

"Yeah, I know the acronym, thank you," I interrupted her, "but I didn't think it applied to fathers." I actually shuddered a little at the thought.

"Of course it does, you sexist," she chided me. "And Carlisle is the definitive dilf. He's all jaw line and blue eyes and blonde hair. If I was straight and 20 years older, I'd be all over that. And that smirk he does? Yummy."

"Bella told me that I inherited that smirk," I told her and she laughed again.

"Don't be sad, Edward. You're very cute. We wouldn't be friends otherwise." She reached out to pinch my cheek but I managed to dodge her before she could get me. She finally left the room and I returned to my work, trying very hard not to think about the fact that my girlfriend and my best friend both had a thing for my father.

**AN: Hands up who wants a dining room outtake?**

**Seriously though, I'm thinking about writing some outtakes because the mere thought of this story ending makes me want to weep (don't panic, it isn't ending just yet!), so if there's anything you wanted to see and didn't, let me know!**


	25. Chapter 25

Regina Spektor - Consequence of Sounds

**Bella POV**

"You don't have to do this."

"I kind of do."

He sighed as he picked up our coffee cups and placed them in the sink.

"Yeah, I suppose you do. But if anything happens, anything at all, call me and I'll come get you immediately."

"Edward, I will be fine. They're just women."

"Esme, yes. Alice is something far more sinister wrapped in a convincing disguise."

"Alice is fine, relax." He was still very sceptical about the tenuous friendship that had sprung up between his sister and I. She still made me a little nervous, and I think she knew that. In the few phone calls we'd shared, she'd made a real effort to show me that her inherent meanness also moulded into a razor sharp wit and that if she had a real reason to like you, she was a pretty damn cool girl.

Edward didn't buy it, citing that I was far too nice to get along well with his sister. What he didn't understand was that bitchy girls, the ones like Alice who were unabashedly mean when they had to be, made for the best friends, because at the root of their behaviour was deep, deep loyalty. But, he was a guy, and didn't understand that sort of thing at all, so he had been working himself into a near frenzy in the days coming up to the shopping trip.

Alice I knew I could handle. Esme on the other hand, I was internally tearing my hair out about, although Edward had no idea. I knew that if I showed any real fear about the lunch that he would have cancelled it immediately, and that would help no one, so I sucked it up. I had, however, been freaking out privately. I'd met the woman once, pretending to be on the arm of another man, only to scamper off like a cockroach seconds after meeting her son. Esme now knew that I'd been with her son at that point, and there was no way that that could prove a solid foundation for our relationship. I'd stolen her son from his wife, embarrassed their whole family, and now because of me, they were all suffering. I knew she was a lovely woman, but even the nicest of people had their limits.

When I'd finally confessed my fear to Alice, she promptly told me to shut up. She went on to explain that if there was one person in the world who wouldn't hold this against me, it was Esme. So long as she could see how blissfully happy I made her son, she would let it go. I wasn't entirely convinced, but I had no choice, so I braced myself for whatever was coming. If Edward and I were going to be together for the long run, something I absolutely hoped for, I would have to face his mother at some point regardless. I wandered from the kitchen back to the bedroom, leaving my fretting boyfriend alone with his irrational panic.

I checked myself in the mirror once more, having heeded Alice's warning about turning up looking like a washed up rocker's skanky girlfriend. My hair was neat, blowdried straight and my makeup was light, designed to make me look naturally pretty, which was stretching the truth slightly. Although my outfit was more preppy than my usual fare, I had thrown on my chunky black ankle boots as a small homage to my usual style.

"Bella, you look lovely," Edward soothed as he entered the room, knowing what I was doing without having to ask. "Although," he mused, "I still don't understand why you won't just let me come with you."

"This is something I have to do on my own," I explained for what felt like the millionth time. "I don't want it to look like I'm too frightened of them to venture out the door without you."

"So, long story short, it's your pride?" he questioned flatly.

"Basically, yes."

He rolled his eyes as he sat down on the bed and watched me preen as I tried to make completely sure that Alice wouldn't tell me off the moment she saw me. I was soon distracted when I saw him sitting on the bed, being his usual gorgeous, mind-alteringly attractive self. I tried to focus on the task at hand, perfecting my hair, but I couldn't stop my eyes from drifting to him at every possible opportunity. Unfortunately for me, as it happened again, I found myself busted, his eyes meeting mine through the reflection and a smug smile on his face.

"Stop objectifying me," he chided and I turned around, pausing for a moment before I launched myself across the room and onto the bed, pinning him down with my body. Although I knew he could have easily thrown me off, I also knew that he never would, so we both pretended that it was my strength keeping him down and not his willingness to let me have my fun.

"I'll do whatever I want," I murmured darkly.

"Please do," he offered, his voice dripping with sex. With a cruel smile I lowered my face at an excruciatingly slow pace until my lips were less than an inch away from his. He instinctively lifted his head to try and join our mouths, and I pulled away minutely every time he tried.

"Uh uh," I rebuked him, my voice barely a breath. I wrapped my fingers around his wrists, pulling his arms up to pin them on either side of his head. This brought my face within an inch of his again and he tried once more to kiss me. I let his lips touch mine for less than a second, just enough to let him think he was getting his way and then pulled back. My smile returned and I shook my head slowly, delighting a teensy bit at the frustrated groan that escaped him as I persisted with my torture.

"You're evil," he whined, and I laughed a little before placing my mouth at his ear. I licked the skin just under it and then kissed his earlobe, sucking it into my mouth for a moment and then letting it go.

"You deserve it," I quietly accused and his neck strained closer so that he could hear me. "I was trying to get ready and you came in here looking like that," my voice turned more sinister as my speech progressed, "and distracted me. Now my hair is a mess and my thoughts are all filthy. You ruined all the good work I'd done, Edward," I drew out his name, "and as a result, you have to be punished." I went back to his earlobe and took it into my mouth again, before biting down with a little more force than I normally would. His heavy exhale made me think that I was still falling in the vicinity of pleasure rather than pain. His hands twitched up, but he did not break my hold on him. I squeezed on his wrists gently to remind him not to.

"And how are you going to do that?" he breathed, his voice taking on the husky and yet still velvet tone that made my mind go completely blank. I kissed a torturously slow pattern along his throat and then up from his Adam's Apple, aligning our faces once more.

"Well," I said contemplatively as I lightly brushed my lips past his, not pausing long enough for it to be counted as a kiss. I then released my hold on his wrists, sliding my fingers gently down his arms, across his chest and placing them on his stomach, feeling the muscles there tense and release.

"Well?" he prodded a little desperately.

"Honestly," I confessed quietly, still keeping the dirty tone, "I'm rather enjoying watching you suffer like this." To punctuate my words, I pressed my fingers into the skin of his stomach, just hard enough to illicit another muscle tense from him before I slid them down past his hips to his thighs. I felt him shudder and smiled once more at his obvious reactions, the least of which being the erection I could feel even through his jeans.

"You," he murmured, and then gasped lowly as my fingers started their ascent and brushed inches away from where I knew he wanted attention the most, "are awful."

"And you," I replied as I nipped at the skin of his jaw line, "are loving it."

"Fuck yes I am," he ground out, his hips lifting slightly under me, seeking friction. I moved my face so that my mouth was hovering just a millimetre away from his, and when he lifted his head, I licked the crest of his lips. He dropped his head back down, and I crashed my lips to his with an almost overwhelming intensity, the product of the tension I had created with my stunt. His hands moved straight to my ass as he pulled me forcefully against him and I moaned into his mouth. My fingers were locked into his hair, deepening the kiss and holding him to me as tightly as possible.

Just as his fingers started to slide over the flushed skin of my stomach, we heard the most devastating noise I could ever have imagined. Three brisk knocks at the front door indicated that what we had started would have to come to an immediate halt. I pulled back from Edward's face, which looked just as irritated as I'm sure mine did.

"Fuck them," he growled, "you can go shopping another day."

I dropped my head to his chest and tried to use his lovely smell to calm myself.

"No," I sighed, "I can't. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck," I cursed before lifting my head, kissing him quickly and climbing off him. He groaned loudly and sat up, watching as I frantically tried to fix my hair. He ran his fingers through his hair and stayed seated for a few seconds. In any other situation I would have laughed because I knew he was trying to will away his erection, but I was just as horny as he was, and so felt nothing but pity for him. A conspicuous moment later he stood up and crossed the room, spinning me around and kissing me firmly.

"We will be continuing that later," he stated, and I nodded quickly before reaching into his hair and pulling him down for another hard kiss. I reluctantly let him go and he left the room to go and answer the door. I checked myself over once more, taking two deep breaths before I went to join the people I could now hear speaking in the hall. It reminded me a little of the day when I'd met Tanya and Irina, only that it was infinitely more frightening. My legs moved unwillingly, my chicken-shit side fighting firmly against my decision to do this. I paused, took a deep breath and then walked out to greet them.

When I laid eyes on the three of them in the hall, chatting animatedly, I blinked reflexively and took a second to take in the view. They really were the most unnaturally attractive group of people I'd ever seen, and the similarities that bound them together just made it more bizarre. While Alice had her father's blue eyes and completely unique black hair, her mother could still clearly be seen, not only in the lines of her face, but how she carried herself. There was an effortless grace that they all three possessed, and it was insanely intimidating. Edward's inherited traits from his mother were more easily identified, in his eyes and hair, but Esme's influence on Alice was just as clear. I took another breath and smiled as charmingly as I could, fighting the urge to start fidgeting nervously as I watched them all interact.

As if Edward could sense my entry into the room, he turned around a moment later, and Alice and Esme's gaze followed his at once. With a slight tilt of his head, he beckoned me over and I went to stand by his side, taking as much courage as I could from the hand that wrapped around mine once I was beside him. Alice smiled and waved casually at me, which I returned, and then all the focus was on Edward's mother.

"Esme, you remember Bella?" Edward asked politely, as if there was some confusion as to who I was.

"Of course I do, how are you Bella?"

She had a charming smile on her face and her voice dripped sincerity and warmth, which immediately made me even more tense. How could she possibly be so lovely to me after everything I'd done to her family? It made no sense.

"I'm great, thanks," I managed to choke out awkwardly. "How are you?"

"Lovely, and very excited to take you out shopping today. Alice is always so adamant about choosing everything herself, and it goes against my motherly instincts to let her." We all laughed gently when Alice grimaced at that. She opened the front door and propped it open with a magnificent pair of shoes.

"Come on, let's get this show on the road," she said firmly, fully imposing the 'mom voice' that Edward complained about, and I smiled in recognition. I looked up at Edward to see him rolling his eyes and then turn to face me.

"Have fun, and call me if Alice does anything," he murmured.

"Which I won't," Alice interjected.

"Sure," Edward replied sarcastically.

"Get over yourself, brother," she shot back and then flipped him the bird.

"Mom," Edward whined, "did you see that?"

"No, I did not," Esme said, although she clearly did. "Both of you get over yourselves, and let's get going." Although her voice was firm, she was fighting back a smile, obviously amused by her children's behaviour. Edward gave me a quick kiss and squeezed my hands gently before letting me go.

"Seriously, just call me," he said quickly before Alice grabbed my hand and forced me out the door, stopping only to stomp on her brother's foot as she reached for me. Having been an only child, I found the whole display completely hilarious, and Edward scowled at the shocked laugh that burst from me as I witnessed them together. Esme, who was a couple of steps ahead, turned back and rolled her eyes at the pair, ushering us down the hall and out of the building with a very maternal edge to her actions.

We climbed into a black town car, and my thoughts momentarily drifted to Liam. I would have loved for him to have been here, not only because he would be an ally, but because he would have absolutely loved using me as a Barbie for the day. I had considered inviting him, but thought better of it, mainly because it would have been odd for him to go from my boyfriend to my unbelievably gay best friend in one shift, and I thought things would have been awkward enough between Esme and I without the added tension.

As the three of us sat in the surprisingly roomy car, awaiting our arrival, the air seemed to get heavy with the unspoken weirdness between us, to the point where it was almost suffocating. I found myself tensing up and picking at my fingernails as the nerves got progressively worse. Eventually, as the atmosphere was becoming completely unbearable, Esme sighed.

"Alright, let's just get this out of the way now," she said decisively. "Bella, I know that you and my son met under… less than ideal circumstances. It's unfortunate, and not really how I envisioned my son's romantic life to play out, but it seems to me that he really cares very deeply for you. So, I think it would be best if we could all overlook this awkwardness and try to get to know each other. I have a feeling that we could have a lovely friendship, Bella, and I'd like to explore that possibility free from the tension that seems to have descended upon this car trip. Do you think we could try that?"

She turned to face me, and it took me a moment to wipe the slightly awed expression off my face before I nodded emphatically. I wanted nothing more than for us to overlook the awkwardness between us and try to be friends.

Shortly after, the car pulled up outside a high end department store, the kind I steered clear of usually because it made me depressed to see such magnificent clothes that were so far beyond my reach. It was hard enough seeing them in the magazines I bought, let alone in the flesh, or fabric, as it were. From what I had deduced from Alice, money was not going to be a matter for my concern on this trip, and although normally it would make me intensely uncomfortable, I'd figured I'd just accept her and Esme's gifts graciously rather than risk offending them.

Alice gave a sigh of deep contentment and climbed out of the car, walking briskly into the store with an eagerness that made it seem to me like she was returning home from a long trip abroad. I walked in slowly, feeling a little like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. I was just waiting for someone to tell me that they didn't serve people like me here and send me on my way. Accordingly, I stayed close to Esme, using her like somewhat of a talisman against the snobby staff of the store. There was no doubt that she belonged here, if anything, she was too lovely for this pretentious place.

They guided me right to the belly of the beast, Alice snatching things of the racks as we went before tossing me, with slightly surprising force, into a change room.

"Keep trying things on, and showing my mom. The ones that make her shortlist will be deliberated on by the three of us until we find the perfect one." With that, she walked off, beckoning an overly eager shop assistant to her side as if she were a golf caddy. I shot a slightly frantic look at Esme, who smiled sweetly and took a seat in front of my change room. With a resigned sigh, I dragged my feet into the room and shucked my clothes, preparing myself for what was to come.

When you grow up on chick flicks, you come to believe that there would be nothing in the world more fun than trying on a series of beautiful outfits, one after the other, like the montages in the movies you love. What you don't realise is that those montages are edited to seem much, much more entertaining and uplifting than they really are. The steady flow of magnificent dresses that came through my change room were agonising to put on, and Alice and Esme took what felt like an eternity evaluating each one, using a series of criteria that I wasn't entirely sure of. After about 15 dresses, I felt like crying.

"Alright," Alice said, seeming to have picked up my mood from the less-than-subtle scowl on my face as I emerged in dress number 16. "That one is just awful, but I have a really good feeling about number 13."

"Number 17," I corrected a little petulantly. Esme laughed lightly at my bad attitude.

"I know this can be… taxing, Bella, but when we find the right one it will all be worth it."

Alice shoved me back into the change room and I looked at the dress that was hanging on the back of the door, a huge smile spreading across my face. It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen, and I could tell just from looking at it that it was going to be perfect. I pulled it on with an unprecedented eagerness and walked out of the change room, sending up a quick prayer that they'd love it as much as I did.

When they saw me, I knew at once that they agreed. A big smile crossed Esme's face and she clapped gently with her excitement, while still maintaining her usual decorum. Alice smirked, looking thoroughly impressed with herself.

"Lucky number 13," she muttered as she circled me, taking the dress in from all angles.

"17," I corrected, and she shushed me.

"Lucky 13 sounds better," she dismissed, and her eyes unfocused as she thought to herself about something. I looked at her quizzically, and after a moment, her eyes met mine and her smile widened.

"What size are your feet?" she asked.

"Why?" I asked, a little taken aback by her zoning out in front of me.

"Because I really like knowing that about people," she deadpanned. "_Shoes_, Bella. You need shoes."

"Oh." I blushed, feeling a little stupid for being confused by her question. "I'm a 7."

"Ok, I'll be back shortly. Don't bitch out and call Edward."

It was like the woman could predict my movements. I had fully intended on sneaking into the change room and texting him, not only because I was sure he was anxious for an update, but because I was a little worried about awkward alone time with Esme.

Rather than hiding like the wuss I so badly wanted to be, I forced myself to and sit beside my boyfriend's mother on a long chaise. She smiled gently and patted my knee before a more business like expression came over her face.

"Bella, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you some questions about you and my son's relationship. You don't have to answer anything you don't want to, I'd just like to know."

Although a significant part of me wanted to run away, I nodded warily, hoping she could sense my discomfort and would take it easy.

"Where did you meet him?" she asked, and I relaxed slightly at the easy question.

"I was out for my birthday in one of Jasper's bars, and he was there," I replied casually.

"If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"

Shit. Edward always promised me he never felt any weirdness about my age, but I couldn't help it. I always felt like people would look down on us when they found out.

"I'm nineteen." I looked closely at Esme's face, trying to find a reaction, but she gave nothing away, holding a polite smile. Perhaps she already knew, and was testing to see if I'd try to lie to her.

"Did you know that he was… unavailable, when you met?"

Wow, the questions weren't getting easier.

"No, I didn't. As bad as this sounds, by the time I did find out, I wanted him too much to care." I blushed as I belatedly realised how bad that sounded. "I know that's no excuse for what I did, but…" I trailed off awkwardly. Esme's smile widened and she patted me on the leg.

"Don't be embarrassed, Bella. I'd always hoped that my son would find the kind of love that I have with his father, that Alice has. I'd hoped that he had with Rosalie, although I knew deep in my heart that he didn't. They just seemed…" she hesitated.

"Perfect for each other?" I supplied, trying not to sound bitter.

"Honestly, yes. But, on closer inspection, their relationship was near hollow, and I feel badly that he lived like that for so long. When I found out about you, I was… displeased, to put it mildly, but from the changes I can see in my son, and from the time I've spent with you today, I'm glad he finally found you. I regret the circumstances of course, but you make Edward happy, and I like you very much."

"Thankyou," I said quietly, unsure of how to respond to her honesty.

"I must warn you though," she continued, "the event we'll be attending together may not be the most pleasant night for any of us, yourself and Edward in particular." Her voice darkened slightly, which surprised me. "Rosalie has painted herself as quite the victim in this situation, mainly because her indiscretions have not been publicised. She has many friends in this circle, some of whom are nothing more than glorified school girls, and they may very well be nasty if given the opportunity."

I was abruptly terrified.

"What do I do?" I asked, trying not to sound as frightened as I was. This sounded absolutely awful, and I was sorely tempted to back out of the whole thing now.

"Bella," she soothed, sensing my discomfort at once, "there will be one of us with you at all times, so you will have nothing to fear. These women are like hyenas, and as long as you are not left alone and vulnerable, they know their place and they will not do anything." She laughed gently at her analogy, and I laughed in response, although the sound was weak and clearly reflecting my fear.

Before I had the chance to work myself into a fullscale panic attack, Alice returned with several pairs of stunning shoes and half an hour later, we left the store. Alice and Esme seemed satisfied with what they had selected for me, and after dropping the bags off at the car, we went for a quick lunch. Alice made it her mission to get Esme and I to bond, and I realised quickly that it would be much easier than I had anticipated. As much as the woman seemed almost otherworldly, we had a lot more in common than I realised. She had been a photography major in college, and had promised to come down and see some of my work.

She had a thin vein of Alice's bitchy streak as well, which came out at the most hilarious and random of times, and I found that I really liked her very much. When the town car pulled up outside Edward's building, signifying the end of our time together, I found myself sad to be leaving them. It felt nice to be part of a family unit like this, and I hadn't realised how much I'd missed that dynamic. I loved my friends of course, but there was something about their interactions that made me smile. I was just grateful to bear witness to it, and even more strangely, I found myself looking forward to seeing them again soon, and maybe one day being a part of their little unit

**AN: Awwww... the rollercoaster always goes up before it plummets. And plummet it will, lady loves.**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: You know what would make my life? **

**If we could get this story to 1000 reviews by the time it ends... do you reckon we can amp up the review effort just a tad so that we could do it? even if you're reviews say 'hey bitch, im reviewing purely to increase your count and satisfy your superficial need to feel like people are looking at you," i'll take it. even if it's just 'yo.' I'm not fussy. And apparently, not above begging either.**

**On with the show.**

**Edward POV**

King Britt - New World In My View

By the time Bella got home, I felt like I was about to tear my hair out. I tried to hold onto the idea that no news was good news, but I couldn't make myself relax knowing that she was out somewhere, unsupervised with Alice and being forced into whatever plans the pixie had made. You just never knew with my sister, and that thought terrified me, probably more than it should.

When I heard the front door open, I had to force myself not to run straight to her and embarrass the shit out of myself, and instead remained seated on the couch, pretending to pay attention to some sport thing that I'd barely noticed I'd put on. She followed the noise of the TV into the living room and flopped down on the couch beside me, looking sleepy.

"Hey," I said casually, "how was it?"

"Meh," she said with a casual shrug, driving my curiosity into overdrive. I looked over at her, only to see that she was trying to cover a smirk. She knew that I wanted information, and yet she was purposely withholding it from me. I reached out quickly and yanked her into my lap, surprising her with my swiftness and earning a squeal in the process.

"Was she mean to you?"

"No, Edward," she sighed, "she wasn't mean to me."

"Are you just saying that so I don't wreak a horrible vengeance upon her?"

"No."

"…Ok, then." I was somewhat satisfied. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"We did, and then some. I thought I'd have a big problem with your mom and sister spending insane amounts of money buying me pretty things, but as it turns out, I didn't. It was better than the alternative, which was Alice yelling at me until I accepted and Esme looking sad."

I laughed at the image her words conjured. Bella staunchly refused any gift from me that could be perceived as extravagant, so I had told Alice to bully her into buying a few nice things for her, by force if necessary. From the sounds of things, my sister and mother had succeeded.

"They're quite the team, aren't they?" I said thought my laughter. She just shook her head, looking a little dazed at the memory. After I stopped chuckling, I spoke again.

"So really, there weren't any problems?"

"No… there was a little awkwardness, understandably, but Esme and I got the chance to talk a little and I honestly couldn't believe how accepting she was of the whole thing."

"What whole thing?"

"Me corrupting her golden child and dragging him down into my abyss of wrongdoing and various perversions, of course," she said with a smirk.

"Perversions, huh?" I shifted her in my lap so that her face was much closer to mine. "Tell me more."

"I think I'd rather show you," she said quietly, attaching her lips to my jaw. I tilted my head and smirked a little.

"I always have been a visual learner," I muttered and then moved my face to join our mouths. Our kiss straddled the line between passionate and loving, a perfect summary of our relationship. As much as I enjoyed when we mucked around and were playful, tonight I just wanted to hold onto her, show her how much I loved her and how grateful I was for what she was doing for my family. I slid her off my lap and onto the couch, and allowed her body to stretch out before moving to hover over her. She sat up a little to pull off her shirt and tossed it on the ground. I felt her fingers at the hem of my shirt, and I allowed her to pull it off and it quickly joined hers. I pulled back to look at her, lying beneath me, her shiny brown hair lying around and tumbling over the pale skin of her chest and shoulders.

"What?" she asked, looking a little unnerved by my staring.

"Nothing," I told her without stopping my perusal.

"Seriously, what?" she prodded.

"You are so gorgeous," I confessed and she laughed lightly before sliding her hands into my hair and pulling my face down to hers. She sighed gently as our tongues met, and I revelled in the sound, as I always did. I slid one hand down to the bare skin of her waist and gripped it, massaging with my fingers until she groaned quietly again. Her pelvis shifted upwards towards mine and I smirked a little at her enthusiasm.

Without breaking our kiss, I pulled myself away slightly so that I could slide my hand between us and unbutton then unzip her jeans, which she quickly shuffled down her legs and kicked off then opened my pants and I did the same. She ran her fingers back up my body, over my waist then my chest, stopping them on my shoulders. Her short nails dug in slightly as she pulled closer me to her, and I exhaled heavily, making her hum in return. Our pace remained leisurely, we were in no hurry, simply enjoying the feel of having our hardly clothed bodies so close. I slid my hand under her back, lifting her closer and also allowing myself the opportunity to unhook her bra, which she promptly slid off and dumped on top of the growing pile on the floor.

We lay on my couch, making out like we were 16, until the tension between us could no longer be ignored. She was grinding her hips against mine in an attempt to find friction, and I was doing the same thing back to her. Our breathing was ragged and uneven as a result of our extended kissing session, and both of us were more than ready for things to progress. My lips left hers and trailed down her throat, lavishing attention on her collar bones, ears, and all the places I knew she loved, while my hand snaked down into her panties.

I groaned lowly against the skin of her neck when I felt how excited she was before I started slowly rubbing her clit with two fingers. She made a mewling sound and tilted her hips up to allow me more access to her, and I chuckled darkly at her eagerness.

"You excited for me, princess?" I murmured.

She nodded, her little hands tightening their hold on my shoulders, "I need…"

"What do you need?" I prompted when her sentence trailed off.

"More," she choked out, the sound of her husky voice making me unbearably hard. In response to her words I slid one finger into her, and then two, revelling in the gasping noise she made.

"Is that better?"

"Yes," she hissed, her back arching up towards me. I leaned back slightly to take in her face. Her eyes were clenched shut and her mouth was hanging open, her head turned to the side. She had one hand on my shoulder, the other digging into the back of the couch.

"Open your eyes for me, pretty girl," I cooed and she forced them open, although they were hooded and seemed only partly focused. Her pelvis tilted again, pushing my fingers deeper and a choked moan escaped her. I held her eyes for a moment, absorbing the mental image that I would hopefully hold onto for the rest of my life, and then moved to press my lips to hers. As soon as our lips met, her eyes fluttered closed again.

She wrapped her arm firmly around my neck holding me to her, even though her attention was diverted to the extent where she seemed to have trouble even kissing me. I increased the pace of my fingers and moved my thumb to rub her clit, and her face dropped to my shoulder. I could feel her shallow, uneven breaths against my skin and knew that she was nearing her peak. I sped my hand's movements further and her gasping breaths turned into quiet, needy moans. I turned my head slightly and kissed her ear lobe.

"Come on, princess, let go," I urged her and her heavy exhale indicated that this is what she wanted to hear. "Can you do that for me? You feel so good under my hands, baby, I just want to make you feel good." I felt her body start to tense under me, and her legs start to tremble.

"That's it," I continued, "that's my girl. Let it go, just for me." With my words and a couple more firm strokes of my fingers, she cried out, a choked sound that cut off when I felt her teeth dig into my shoulder a little. Her legs twitched up and her little body started to shake. I continued my movements, letting her ride out the feeling, and told her I loved her as she started to come down to earth, her teeth releasing my skin. She kissed the place where she'd bitten, and I could feel her breath coming hard and fast against the sensitive spot.

Shortly after she calmed down, she loosened her arm from around my neck enough so that she could kiss me firmly. I kissed her back until a small giggle came out of her mouth. I leaned back, smiling at the now familiar habit of hers. She laughed once more, and then frowned, running her fingers over the spot she'd bitten.

"Err... sorry about that," she said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it," I dismissed her, although the way her brow was furrowed made me think that she was worrying about it.

"I shouldn't have done that, it probably really hurts."

"It doesn't hurt at all," I assured her, and it seemed that the look on my face affirmed my words so she smiled coyly, kissed the spot once more and then kissed her way back to my mouth.

"I don't believe you," she mumbled against my mouth, "but I'm sure there's something I can do to distract you from the pain I've caused." As she said the words, her small, warm hand slid under the waist of my boxers and wrapped around my length. I shuddered slightly, unable to suppress my reaction to her, and she smirked against my lips. She opened her mouth, presumably to say something else, but I took the opportunity to suck on her bottom lip, making it impossible for her to speak. I dragged my teeth across the soft skin and then released, only to feel her tongue flick my lips and I immediately let our tongues tangle together as she stroked me at an infuriatingly slow speed.

"Bella," I groaned into the kiss, my voice sounding oddly needly, and she laughed lowly before releasing me and pushing my underwear off my hips and down my thighs. I kicked them remainder of the way off and tossed them god-knows-where, not that I really gave a flying fuck when her hand wrapped back around me. I crushed my mouth to hers with a new intensity and she kissed me back just as forcefully, although her hand maintained it's agonisingly slow speed. I wrapped an arm around her waist and lowered my body down gently onto hers, maximising the contact between us. We kissed, and she stroked, until I felt her body start to tense underneath me when her own need made itself known. I smirked internally and slid my hand down to her hip, holding onto it firmly as I pushed my body against hers.

"Edward, I want you so badly," she breathed, her words barely audible even as close as I was and half cut off by a moan. I reached down to the floor, trying to fumble for my jeans and the condom held within, only to be surprised when she pulled my hand away.

"I got the shot, don't worry about it," she murmured, and I pulled back, wanting to be sure I'd heard her correctly. My face held an expression that was part shock, and part joy, and she smiled evilly.

"Surprise," she said with a wicked glint in her eyes and pulled my face back down to hers.

"Best fucking surprise ever," I muttered as my lips traipsed her throat, drifting down towards her collar bones. As excited as I was at the prospect of finally getting to feel her with no barriers at all, I wasn't going to rush into things like a desperate teen. And, I admit, a tiny part of me wanted to drag this out as punishment for her cruel use of a handjob to almost tease me to death.

"Edward," she groaned, her voice sounding ever so slightly whiny, "now."

"Now?" I echoed, making no attempt to hide the smugness in my tone. She growled at me, an unbelievably sexy sound.

"Now," she said firmly as she manoeuvred herself so that I could feel her wet heat against me. With that action, all plans of teasing and torturing went straight out the window as my brain packed up and moved south. I rubbed the head of my cock against her, trying to acclimate myself with the feeling, even if it was only a fraction of what was to come. I heard her moan, and even the wordless sound had an aura of irritation about it, so I got on with the show. I pressed into her painfully slowly, luxuriating in the sensation of having her so completely.

"Jesus Christ, Bella..." The words fell from my lips with no conscious instruction to do so, transfixed as I was by the overwhelming warmth and wetness and just _perfection_ that was Bella. This was by no means the first time I'd ever gone without a condom, but, as always, with Bella everything felt like the first time. She emitted a low hissing sound that I had never heard from her before, making me think that the feeling was mutual. I slid all the way in, then paused for a moment, relishing the feeling before pulling out and returning, setting a steady, unhurried pace. I wanted to experience this to the absolute fullest, and had no intention of rushing things.

Her arms wrapped around me, her finger nails digging into the muscles of my back and I pressed my forehead into the crook of her neck, kissing any skin my lips touched.

"Oh my god," she murmured, dragging the syllables out in her sweet-yet-sinfully-arousing voice, "it's so much better this way."

"I know, it's so fucking good princess," I agreed, "you feel so fucking good." I tilted the angle of my hips and used the arm I had wrapped around her to move her slightly, allowing me to go deeper, and she gasped as I reached a new place. I rubbed against the spot each time I pushed into her, feeling her little body writhe and twist against me as I brought her closer to her release. The noises she was making were quiet, muted by her having dropped her face my shoulder, but had an understated sexiness about them that was driving me to insanity.

"Come on, sweetheart, I want to feel you," I murmured unthinkingly as I started to increase my pace and her legs began to tremble beneath me. One of her legs wrapped around my thigh as she pulled me to her, and I increased my speed further only to be rewarded with a deep moan. She slid her fingers up from my back to my neck, tilting my face up to meet hers and locking me in a searing kiss. Our bodies moved in perfect tandem as we both barrelled towards our peaks, struggling for breath but unwilling to break our kiss for anything. Finally, the need for oxygen forced our lips to part, and we breathed heavily into each others mouths as we sucked in the vital air.

"Edward, please," she begged as I watched her eyes roll slightly back into her head. The combination of the visual and the sensation damn near overwhelmed me in that instant, and I pushed harder, went deeper in an attempt to get her there with me.

"That's it, Bella, come with me," I almost pleaded with her as I dropped my head to her throat, dragging my teeth across her supple skin as rational thought began to evade me. Her hands latched onto my shoulders and pulled me tight as her body hips thrust up sharply against me, signifying her release. She shook underneath me, and I felt her muscles clenching around my cock, hurling me into my own release. With a low "fuck", I thrust into her three more times before spilling inside of her for the first time. I stayed where I was as I felt her shaking slow down, feeling the little after shocks ripple across her muscles. I buried my head into her neck, pressing my lips to her slightly sweaty skin and just revelling in the moment. As the intensity of our encounter started to dissipate, I waited for her customary giggle, only to find myself missing it when it never arrived.

"What," I murmured as I pulled back to look at her, "no giggling?"

She shook her head, her expression completely serious and a little awed.

"That was no laughing matter."

I hummed in agreement as I studied her flushed face and the slight hickey that was already emerging on her collar bone.

"Want to get off me now?" she asked casually with a gentle tap on my back, "I wouldn't mind jumping in the shower."

Reluctantly, I pulled away from her and reached for my boxer shorts, tugging them back on as she darted from the room, presumably heading for my en suite. I followed behind her as a more leisurely pace, fully intent on joining her in the shower. I heard the water start to run as I entered my bedroom and continued on to my bathroom, taking a moment to watch Bella through the glass door of my shoulder. She smiled winningly as she stepped under the spray, and I watched, completely transfixed, as the water soaked her hair to almost black and plastered it to her body. A single drop ran down the tip of her nose and dripped onto her lip, disappearing as she ran her tongue over it and tilted her head to the side, a wordless invitation that I immediately accepted.

* * *

Time passes with almost alarming speed when you're dreading something on the horizon. It just careens towards you, completely unavoidable. Before I knew it, I was dressing for the Thanksgiving gala, and trying to stop myself from kidnapping Bella and getting her as far away from this situation as I could. I had tried my hardest to convince the women of my life that this was not the best way to handle things, but they refused to listen to me. Instead, they were throwing Bella to the wolves in the hope that she'd somehow manage to survive it.

This was a really bad fucking idea.

I doubled checked my tie and tried once more to tame my hair before emerging from my bedroom to find Bella, Alice and my mother standing in the kitchen over a bottle of champagne. I wondered for a moment where my father was, but knew that watching the women strategise would have held even less appeal to him than it did to me, and that he would probably meet us before he arrived. The sound of the TV drifted quietly from the lounge room, where I assumed Jasper was hiding. I smiled winningly at the ladies, kissed all three of them on the head as I walked to the fridge, grabbing two beers and sneaking back out. I walked into the lounge room only to find Jasper watching a car race.

"You fucking hillbilly," I taunted him with a laugh as I sat down beside him and passed him the extra beer. He flipped me off before turning to face me.

"They're still plotting, I take it?"

"Yeah. God knows how much planning they can do."

"This is a bad idea, man," he said lowly, and I nodded in fervent agreement.

"I know, but I can't seem to sway them from their decision. They gang together and there's nothing that can be done," I lamented.

"Tell me about it. Why do you think I'm here right now in this damn suit?" he gestured to himself as he spoke. "Fucking women," he murmured as his eyes drifted back to the television.

"I know, man. I know."

**AN: Are we ready for the big event?**

**Also, twitter me up hoorz, because i love chatting with you guys and some of the stuff i say is (unintentionally for the most part) mildly amusing... doooo eeeeeet. there's a link on my profile, but my name deely is netracullen, so GET ON IT. if you love me, or even just like me a teensy bit, you'll do it. my self esteem directly correlates to how many people are following me, and right now, i'm borderline emo. can you live with the guilt of knowing that? i didn't think so.**


	27. Chapter 27

**So, here it is. Get excited.**

**If you think you've suffered after reading this ch, remember this and you might feel better. I have to go to a Lord of the Rings dress up party, for someone else, on my birthday. Karma has well and truly gotten me back for my various crimes.**

**Also, I just got my 800th review. I want to bone each and every one of you, and if someone buys me a round-the-world plane ticket, I will. Operation 1000-by-the-end is off to a great start!**

The Dead Weather - Hang You From The Heavens

**Bella POV**

I could not _believe_ I was doing this. How the fuck had I allowed myself to be coerced into this situation?

Alright, so I put myself in this situation. I knew that, but that thought didn't make it any easier for me to control the burgeoning panic that was threatening to escape as we pulled up outside the beautiful building that was hosting the event. I was in a magnificent dress, something far more lovely than anything I had ever touched, let alone worn, I was surrounded by almost sickeningly attractive and endearing people, and all I could think about was the sinking feeling in my stomach telling me that this was all going to blow up in my face.

Personally, I blamed Edward and all his negativity on the subject. What a jackass.

"Bella, you're going to be fine. Stop picking your nails." Alice smacked my hands down to my sides and gave me a stern look before linking her arm through Jasper's. Esme and Carlisle walked in front of us, Alice and Jasper bringing up the rear. It felt like some kind of military formation.

_Or a funeral procession._

Edward, who was completely attuned to my behaviours and feelings, wrapped an arm gently around my waist, tucking me into his frame. The gesture was unbearably sweet, and would quite possibly be the nicest thing that happened all evening, so I embraced his actions. I was fully aware of how pessimistic and childish I was being, but hey, I figured that bracing myself for the worst would probably result in being pleasantly surprised when things weren't quite as hellish as I'd anticipated.

It was a flawed strategy, but it was all I had at that point, so I was running with it.

Esme glanced back over her shoulder at me, giving me a look that I assumed was intended to comfort, although it did little. I squared my shoulders and walked tall, knowing that even if I felt like I was being led into a slaughterhouse, I had to play my part, not just for my sake, but for everyone else's. As we entered the ludicrously extravagant ballroom that was nothing more than a glorified battle arena, I fought back a sigh. I longed for the days where Liam and I would attend these, drunk and giggly from expensive champagne, without a care in the word other than who could make the snarkiest one-liner about a fellow attendee. All this social hierarchy, fight for dominance crap was so far beyond my scene I wanted to laugh... or vomit.

By the time the night was half way through, I found myself completely surprised... nothing had happened. People had glanced at the six of us entering, said hellos to everyone, and acted as if Edward had been alone, rather than with my by his side. At best, I would get a quick smirk before their attention was diverted back to Esme or Carlisle, but only when I was directly introduced. No one spoke to me, no one looked at me unless absolutely necessary. And I was becoming increasingly convinced that Rosalie hadn't even bothered to attend. It was like I didn't exist.

Oddly, this hurt more than if there'd been some kind of public lynching or huge scene.

Alice had taken to glancing around the room periodically, as if waiting for the onslaught, and Edward looked completely bemused, if not a little smug. He'd said from the get-go that my attending this event would change nothing, and it was starting to seem as if he was right. Esme and Carlisle seemed to be paying no attention to the eerie calm that had enveloped us, acting as if there was no underlying agenda and just enjoying having their family together.

By the time our dinner plates were being collected by extremely diligent staff, I had a couple of glasses of champagne under my belt and, admittedly, was starting to get a little cocky. Rosalie had chickened out, she hadn't even turned up to the battlefield because she knew that we'd win. In fact, we'd won without even having to do anything. This was great. I looked over at Alice, across the table from me, and raised a glass in triumph with a smirk on my face. She smiled and raised her glass back, causing Jasper to roll his eyes beside her. I'm sure Edward was going something similar next to me, but I didn't care. I took a healthy sip of the delicious liquor before almost choking it back up when someone spoke from just behind my head.

"Well hello, Cullen family!" a sickeningly false voice rang and I immediately flinched away from the grating sound, taking in Alice's expression of abject disgust at whoever it was that was standing behind me. Even Esme's smile looked slightly contrived, a near impossible feat, because Esme would smile at a death row inmate with more enthusiasm than she was giving this person. I slowly turned to see a rather plain looking woman in her mid thirties, with a truly obscene pair of fake breasts that almost took my eye out when I turned around.

It wasn't that they were huge or anything, they just looked horrific, like they would be rock solid to the touch or have nipples that stuck out in different directions. Surely, if she were attending a $5000-per-plate event, she could have shelled out for a better surgeon than whoever she used. She smelled like fairy floss and lipstick, and though her dress would definitely have cost her a pretty penny, she carried it off like it was made of garbage bags... used garbage bags. Next to her stood a blonde man who was staring intently down my dress.

Charming.

"Michael, Jessica," Esme spoke on behalf of our group, "how lovely to see you. Where is your daughter this evening?"

"Tiffany is with... um... what's the nanny's name?" Jessica asked her husband, smacking him in the chest with the back of her hand. The couple had, between them, about as much class as a sorority wet t-shirt competition. Them naming their daughter Tiffany made me think of a biker naming their daughter Harley - it was purely a lack of imagination, and in their case, a failed attempt at sounding classy, I suspected.

"Cadence," he replied as his eyes glazed over, his head full of memories I didn't want to think about. I felt awful for poor Cadence.

"That's it, Cadence. Tiffany is with Cadence... she's been so difficult of late," Jessica sighed weakly and Alice scoffed.

"Oh yes, Jessica, because most infants are just delightful twenty-four hours a day," she said scathingly, eyes narrowed in disgust at the way the woman regarded the child. I wanted to cheer, or high five Alice, because this woman was vomit-inducingly unpleasant, and I hadn't even spoken to her directly. I felt Edward's arm move across the back of my chair, in a gesture that said 'mine' as clearly as the spoken words would have. He was staring at Michael, who looked up from my chest, to Edward's arm, then to Edward's enraged expression, and then back to his wife, who was prattling on about something that didn't interest me at all.

"And you..." Jessica directed her eyes to me, "must be Isabella Swan." She stated my full name slowly, over-enunciating the syllables. It was kind of creepy. Luckily, Alice had prepared me for this, telling me that the women would know as much about me as they could possibly gather, because apparently they traded in specific information. They were bored and rich, and apparently, I was big news.

"That would be me," I said, breaking her gaze to reach for my champagne flute. I returned my stare to the woman as I lifted the glass to my lips, waiting to see what else she would say.

"Are you old enough to be drinking that?" she asked sweetly, although the smile on her face was anything but. I almost choked on my drink, and Edward's hand that was resting behind my back clenched into a fist.

"Excuse me?" Alice asked, completely taken aback.

"Well, Alice," Jessica said in a snide tone, "legally, you can't drink until you turn 21, and I don't think your _young_ friend here is old enough yet." She threw a glance at Edward as she emphasised the word 'young'. "Am I wrong?" I looked down at the table and set my glass down, thoroughly embarrassed despite my wish that I could stand up to her and tell her to go fuck herself.

"How old are you?" Michael asked intently.

"She's 19," Jessica informed her husband, apparently the only person in the place who was unaware of my age. I glanced around the room only to see that most of the women present were watching this exchange. Jessica must have been a friend of Rosalie's, doing her bidding.

"Is that so?" Michael asked, showing a little more than polite interest. I could feel Edward almost quivering with pent up anger. I gently pulled his hand from across the back of my chair and into my lap, encasing it in both of mine. He knotted the fingers of our hands together and squeezed, looking for reassurance. I squeezed back, letting him know that I was fine. I was trying to hold onto the fact that this could have gone much worse than it was going.

"It is so," Alice interjected before Edward got the chance to do something silly, "would you like anything else? Blood type? Bank account details?" Her voice was scathing, and ice cold although no higher than normal speaking volume. Jessica tore her eyes from me and actually looked slightly chagrined. Esme was right, they were just like hyenas. As soon as someone higher on the food chain stepped in, they panicked. Alice sent a glare around the room, and all the women promptly returned their attention to their own tables. Carlisle cleared his throat, clearly finished with Jessica's attempts to stir trouble.

"So, Michael, how's business treating you?" He spoke firmly, his voice laced with authority and closing all other subjects. Jessica looked over at Alice, and then quickly down at me, a nasty smile spreading across her face as she did so. She then looked over her shoulder and waved at someone, before dragging her husband away to partake in another conversation.

As soon as we were alone again, Alice laughed bitterly.

"What a disgusting whore," she spat, and her mother looked at her sharply.

"Alice, language please," she chided, although she said nothing to contradict her daughter's words. We all knew they were true.

"Are you ladies satisfied now?" Edward asked, making no attempt to disguise his anger. "Have you put Bella on display for long enough?" I found it a bit odd how he refused to acknowledge that I was just as responsible for this plan as the other women, insisting that I'd been emotionally blackmailed into it out of fear that they would resent me for my weakness. Little did he know that I was absolutely keen for any situation that would put me on a level playing field with his ex wife. Maybe he did know, but he refused to accept it.

I squeezed his hand in what I hoped was a reassuring gesture.

"We can leave if you like," I told him quietly.

"If I'd had my way, we would never have come," he said darkly, and I recoiled slightly from the harshness of his voice. He looked up at my slightly hurt expression, sighed deeply and relaxed himself.

"Let's just get out of here," he murmured to me as he stood. We bid our goodbyes to his family and made our way towards the cloakroom to collect our coats so we could finally be rid of all this insanity. We were feet from the cloakroom when we both heard someone call Edward's voice. He looked over his shoulder and sighed, his shoulders rising and falling with his exasperation.

"I'm sorry," he murmured as he pressed a kiss to my temple, "but Esme will quite literally murder me if I don't at least say hello, but it will only take a moment I promise."

"How about you give me the coat ticket and meet me there when you're finished?" I offered. "It'll give you a good excuse to get away if... whoever that is rambles on for too long," I said with a cheeky smile. He laughed lightly before fishing the ticket from his pocket. I extended my hand for it and rather than he pulled the hand up to his mouth, grazing his lips across the back and making my legs go a little weak. Sometimes, he did things that almost overwhelmed me with their sweetness.

"Smart and beautiful," he muttered against the skin of my palm, "you are truly amazing, Miss Swan."

I pulled my hand away from his mouth, completely unable to wipe the giddy smile off my face.

"Hurry up, and I'll show you exactly how amazing I am when we get back to your place," I told him with a playful wink and watched his mouth drop open before heading off to collect our coats. I walked around the corner and stopped at the counter, handing over my token and receiving Edward and my belongings in return. I leaned against a wall near the exit, glancing at my phone and waiting impatiently for Edward. I just wanted to get home, get out of this dress and maybe fool around a little with the man I loved.

"Hello, Isabella."

I turned around and fought the eye roll that would have made my feelings for Michael Newton abundantly clear.

"Uh, hi," I said uncertainly, having no idea as to why he would strike up a conversation with me. He reached into his pocket and procured a packet of cigarettes, holding it up to me in offering.

"You smoke?" he asked. I deliberated for a moment before nodding my head. He smiled then inclined his head towards the adjacent exit, a silent offer. I nodded again and he held the door open for me. I was a little surprised to be honest, not picturing him as the kind of man who would do anything even remotely chivalrous. He struck me more as the lecherous type. He offered me a cigarette along with a lighter, both of which I accepted. We stood in silence as we both took our first few drags. The night was freezing, and I huddled into my jacket, Edward's still hanging over my arm as I leaned against the wall. He stood before me, maintaining a polite distance, which I was grateful for.

"Thank you, Michael."

"Mike, please."

"Bella."

There was another protracted moment of silence while we both focused on our activity.

"So," he started, his eyes trained intently on his cigarette, "I'm sorry about my heinous bitch of a wife." I laughed, completely surprised by his words.

"What do you mean?" I asked, thinking that feigning innocence was probably best. He snorted.

"Bella, you're a clever girl, I'm sure. Let's not pretend that Jessica didn't make a complete fool of herself in front of your entire family, and half of the room, by doing what she did to you."

"She didn't say anything that wasn't true," I said quietly, not sure what he wanted me to say and gave a casual shrug to show I wasn't offended. He sighed and took a step closer.

"I am sorry that you got dragged into their politics," he said quietly, sincerity clear in his voice. I was surprised to find that I didn't loath this man as much as I'd originally anticipated I would.

"So... you and Edward, huh?" he changed the subject. I tensed and looked down, wondering if he'd been sent out here to gather information.

"Relax," he sighed, "you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I was just making conversation, not doing recon." I was embarrassed at being caught out and raised my eyes to meet his. He dropped his cigarette, deliberately snuffing it out with the toe of his shoe while holding my eyes to his. I glanced back at the entrance, wondering what the hell was taking Edward so long.

"So..." I said, and the rest of my sentence was cut off by Mike's mouth smashing against mine. My head smacked back into the wall behind me under the force of his lips, and my attempts to use my hands to force his torso back failed miserably. Edward's coat slipped from my arm to the floor as I tried in vain to push him away from me, to no avail.

After a few seconds that seemed far, far too long, I managed to manoeuvre my face out of his reach.

"Mike, please," I choked out desperately as his mouth attached itself roughly to my throat.

"Shhh," he cooed, "I know you want me, it's fine. You don't have to feel guilty for it."

"I don't want you!" I cried, trying again to push him away from me. He pulled back, looking thoroughly shocked.

"So you came out with me, why?" he asked incredulously. One of his hands was firmly anchored on my ass, the other on the wall beside my head. I was trapped, and my mind was completely blank. I couldn't respond. He took my lack of rebuttal as an admission of guilt.

"I know girls like you, Bella," he muttered as his head lowered back down to my throat. I struggled as much as I could, but the effort was futile, he had me locked in. "You like the chase. The game turns you on. First Edward, now me. Seeing me with my wife drove you insane, so you came out here, and now you're playing hard to get, but we both know what you want." The hand clutching my ass started to draw my dress up, and soon the hem on the left side was grazing my knee. The tears were streaming down my face in earnest now, but the man holding me down seemed completely oblivious to my distress. Or he didn't care. I could not believe that this was happening to me.

And where the fuck was Edward?

A panicked sob escaped as I felt his teeth grazing my skin, and my stomach rolled. In a last ditch attempt to free myself, I raised a hand that had been shoving at his chest and moved it to his throat, pushing against his adam's apple as hard as I could. He choked and pulled back slightly, removing his hand from my body. I heard the door swing open and turned around, looking frantically over to my inadvertent saviour.

"What the hell is going on out here?"

I almost cried with sheer joy when I heard the familiar voice.

"Jasper, please!" I begged him, my body completely locked down and unable to move as the panic coursed through my veins. Jasper took in the scene before him for a split second before jumping into action.

"Get the fuck off of her, Newton," he said, his voice quiet and absolutely terrifying. He took one step forward, and Mike took one step back from me, which was all I needed. I sank down to the floor, drawing my body in and curling up in a ball, wanting to close myself off from everything that had just happened.

"Look, man," Mike pleaded, "she came onto me. This isn't what it looks like. Everyone knows that she has a thing for married men, I had no idea this was going to happen when I came out here."

"No, you asshole," Jasper said, "I think this is exactly what it looks like. You had her, pinned to a wall and crying, while you grabbed at her." I could only imagine what Jasper looked like as he spoke, but I couldn't bring myself to look up at the scene unfolding before me.

"Hey Jasper, have you - Bella?"

Edward's voice rang out, but I couldn't respond to it. I didn't want to. A hand touched my back and I flinched away from it instinctively, not wanting to be touched.

"Bella," his voice was much closer now, "what happened?"

I said nothing, nor did I acknowledge him in any other way.

"Jasper?" he questioned his brother.

"I just walked out to find Michael here with Bella pressed against the wall, crying as he put his filthy hands all over her." I felt Edward's body move away from mine swiftly.

"You did _what_?" he asked, presumably directing the question at Mike.

"He then proceeded to tell me," Jasper continued, "that Bella made the move on him." The smug tone of Jasper's voice made it clear that he knew exactly how much he was inciting Edward's anger, and that it was absolutely his intention.

"Listen, Edward -" Mike started, only be cut off by an unnatural crunch sound and a somewhat girlish cry that I couldn't place. I looked up to see Mike clutching his face and Edward looming over his hunched form as Jasper tried to separate the two men. Apparently, punches in real life don't make the noise they do in the movies. Edward's fists were flexed in preparation for making another hit, and the unbridled violence that seemed to have consumed him frightened me, so I tucked my head back in behind my knees.

"Edward, stop this," Jasper said, his voice lilting and smooth. "You have to get Bella out of here, I'll deal with... this sack of shit." There was a slight scuffle and I could imagine Jasper pulling a less-than-eager Mike Newton back into the building to be dealt with. Edward sighed deeply, trying to calm himself I'm sure, and then I heard footsteps approaching.

"Bella, honey?" he asked quietly, bending down again beside me. "Can you look at me?"

Very, _very_ reluctantly, I raised my head, slightly pleased to see that the anger was gone from his expression and posture. Now he just looked concerned.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, looking over my hunched body speculatively. I shook my head, struggling to maintain eye contact with him.

"Are you ok?"

I shook my head again and looked away, feeling a tear slide down my face.

"Oh, Bella," he murmured, reaching for me. I flinched away and he hesitated for a moment before standing upright and offering a hand to me. I cautiously reached out and took the hand, allowing him to pull me into a standing position, then quickly released it. He bent to pick up his coat, wrapping it firmly around my shoulders before sliding his arm very gently around my waist, barely making contact. He bundled me into a waiting town car and we pulled away from the curb. I couldn't get away from this place fast enough.

"Bella, I'm so sorry," Edward said, his voice sounding oddly desperate. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't taken so long, I would have been there and none of this would have happened -"

"Edward, stop."

Thankfully, he cut off his rant. I really didn't want to hear him say anything more about the situation. I just wanted it forgotten and over with as soon as possible, and I knew that I wasn't going to get that from Edward tonight, so I did the one thing that I thought would help me in that moment.

"I'd like you to take me home, please."

"Of course," he said soothingly, before he leaned forward and started reciting his address to the driver. I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and he turned around, looking confused.

"No, I'd like to go to my house."

Edward's face crumpled slightly, undisguised pain and rejection marring his features. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't angry, that my decision had nothing to do with him, but I couldn't. I didn't want to talk about it, or anything else in that moment, so I left it alone. Edward redirected the driver to my house and said nothing more until the car pulled up outside my building. He looked over at me then, his eyes clearly asking if he was invited into my home with me. The fact that he didn't ask the question aloud told me that he already knew what my answer would be.

I leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek, and then got out of the car without a word. As I walked up the stairs of my building and was finally back home and swathed in the familiar, the reaction I had been holding off in the car started to claw its way out of my body. I unlocked my door with shaking hands, kicked off my heels and threw my coat down as I made my way towards Liam's room. The door was slightly ajar, so I entered without knocking, knowing he wouldn't have company. I crawled into the bed, still dressed in the exquisite gown that I now hated. I was shaking like a leaf and breathing in heavy, irregular pants, causing Liam to wake and sit up in alarm, flicking on his bedside lamp to get a better picture of whoever had joined him in bed.

"What the - Bella!"

His eyes were full of unspoken questions, questions that I just couldn't deal with right then. I shook my head, and because he knew me so well, he didn't push for any more information. Instead, he passed me a big sweatshirt and helped to pull me out of my dress while I stayed curled up on his bed, redressing me then pulling me down into his embrace. He held me there, wrapped around me and protecting me with his very being, not saying a word until sleep finally claimed me.

**AN: We're still friends, right?**


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: Because it's my birthday this weekend, here's the chappie a bit earlier than usual! And because it's my birthday, my inbox should be bursting with review love, and possibly robporn, because those are the greatest gifts of all!**

Tunng - The Pioneers (Bloc Party Cover)

_**Edward POV**_

I was murderous. That word got thrown around a lot, but I was actually at the point where I could end Michael Newton's futile existence with a smile on my face. I was intently focused on my anger as I paced around my apartment like a lion in a cage, mainly because it was easier to think about than the situation with Bella. I was pulling at my hair as Jasper and my sister tried in vain to calm me down. Their words sounded muted, like I was underwater.

She clearly blamed me for what happened, and I wasn't going to dispute her verdict for a second. She had every right to hold me responsible, because I was responsible. I had allowed myself to be held in an excruciatingly boring conversation with two of my father's old friends because I'd been worried that my mother would tell me off if I was rude. While I was doing that, she was being attacked. I'd failed her in the most catastrophic way.

I flopped down onto the couch, trying to think of how I could possibly right this, and coming up blank. As Jasper left the room, presumably to get another ice pack for his swollen knuckles, Alice sat down beside me. I recoiled from her like she was on fire.

"Fuck you, Alice! Don't fucking sit there and tell me this isn't my fault! Of course it's my fault, and your's as well, for that matter!"

"Edward," Jasper said as he re-entered the room, his voice carrying a warning that I ignored.

"If it wasn't for us, she wouldn't have even been there! No, not for us, for you! Are you satisfied now Alice? Will this bode well for our image?"

She flinched back from me, a low gasp escaping her mouth at the cruel words. I knew how unreasonable I was being, but I couldn't stop. If I lost her, if this ruined us after we'd survived so much, I would never forgive myself, or my family, for the events of the evening. I looked at my sister, and her expression told me that I'd just confirmed her own feelings of responsibility in the situation. The guilt on her face absolved me of any anger completely, and I felt awful that I was dragging her down with me.

"Alice I'm sorry. if I lose her... I don't know what I'll do." I dropped my head into my hands and a quiet sob fought its way out of my mouth. Alice sat back down beside me, slowly reaching her hand out and wrapping her tiny arm around my shoulders.

"Edward," she said quietly, and I could feel her calming influence wrapping itself around me. "Just give her tonight. She needs time, a chance to decompress. She doesn't blame you, and she could never hate you, anymore than you could hate her. Give her time, she'll come back."

I tried to absorb Alice's words and hold onto them, but it was insanely difficult. The adrenalin from my violent outburst was wearing off, despair taking its place. I just felt so guilty, and I could see no course of action that wouldn't just make things worse. The only plan that seemed to make sense was to track down Michael Newton and beat him within an inch of his life, but the small part of my brain still thinking logically was screaming that it wasn't as good an idea as I thought it was.

The night passed, albeit at an unbearably slow rate as I waited for word from Bella, or Liam, or anyone who could attest to her whereabouts and wellbeing. I took a minute amount of solace from knowing where she was, but at the same time, the temptation to go to her almost overwhelmed me more than once. The only thing holding me in my apartment was the suspicion that she'd gone home because she didn't want to see me, and that my presence may very well have made things even worse. Accordingly, I only allowed myself to send a couple of concerned text messages, none of which she responded to.

I was completely adrift, waiting for her to respond to me. As more time passed, I grew hopeful that given time she would forgive me for failing her so absolutely, but it all hinged on her. Whatever she wanted, I would give.

By mid-afternoon, I was starting to stress again, and nearly jumped for joy when I heard her telltale ringtone coming from my phone. She'd set it one day and for days after, she'd call at the most random of times in the hope that it would sound and embarrass me in public. She'd succeeded more than once. Leah had offered to change it, assuming my ineptness with technology was forcing me to keep it, but I knew that if I changed it she'd just come up with something worse.

_"Old man river,_

_That old man river,_

_He must know something,_

_But don't say nothing…"_

She never got tired of the old man jokes.

"Bella," I answered, letting relief saturate my tone.

"Hello, Edward."

"How are you?" I asked gently, not sure if she'd want to talk about the prior evening.

"I'm alright. Sorry that I left you last night, I just needed some time..." She trailed off, as if she had something to be contrite about.

"Princess, there's no need at all to apologise. Neither of us were in a particular good place last night, and I understand. Did Liam make you feel better?"

"How did you know?" she asked, laughing a little.

"I know everything," I said sagely, receiving more giggles in response. The sound reassured me, and made me smile like a fool.

"I'm still here, I'm going to hang out with Liam a little more and I'll come home tonight," she informed me, and my heart warmed slightly that she referred to my place as home.

"Whatever you need, baby. I love you."

"I love you too, peaches."

I could hear Liam's raucous laughter when he realised that Bella had commandeered his nickname for me. However, my mood was so buoyant that I couldn't be annoyed or embarrassed, so I simply laughed.

"Tell Liam I said hello."

She repeated my greeting and I heard Liam yell back.

"Hi, Peaches!" His voice was a little on the rowdy side, even for him, which was quite a feat.

"... Is he drunk?"

"Maybe."

"I assume you joined him in that endeavour?"

"... Maybe." Her hesitance to respond made me laugh again.

"Liam wanted to celebrate my coming home for the first time in... a long time. This is how we celebrate things." Her justification just made me laugh harder.

"Is Lauren home?" I asked casually, trying not to let my nervousness seep into my voice. I knew what Lauren was like, and I really didn't want Bella around her if it could be avoided, especially considering what had happened in the past.

"No, she didn't come home last night."

Phew.

"Alright. Have fun, call me if you need me to come and carry you home," I teased.

"Shut up," she shot back, and I could practically hear her pouting. "I don't need to be picked up."

"Yes she does!" Liam yelled at me and then hissed at Bella, "if he comes here, we can look at him!"

"I can look at him whenever I want," she said in response.

"But I can't! Don't be a bitch!"

I wondered if he realised I could hear him, then concluded that he probably wouldn't have minded either way. In fact, he may have preferred that I heard him.

"And that's my cue to leave. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay... bye."

"Goodbye, Bella."

Still chuckling quietly to myself, I put the phone down and set about busying myself until Bella got home, able to relax now that I knew it was actually going to happen sometime in the near future.

When she finally tripped through the front door a few hours later, I had to stop myself from running to the front door to meet her like an overexcited puppy.

"Edward?" she called, drawing out my name and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Bella?" I mimicked.

"Where are youuuuu?"

"In the living roooooom."

I could hear her skipping through the house and she entered the room, all flushed cheeks and bright eyes from her alcohol consumption and bonding time with Liam, and shed her jacket, tossing it to the floor. She then vaulted over the back out of the couch and landed in my lap, knocking the air out of me.

"Hello, princess," I cooed, unable to keep the smile off my face as I pulled off her red beanie and kissed the top of her head.

"Hey, peaches!" she said, a little too loudly considering how close she was to me.

"How are you, other than drunk?"

"I'm good, watcha doin'?"

"Watching a movie," I informed her.

"How boring," she huffed as she struggled to pull off her boots while maintaining her position in my lap.

"That's me, boring as they come."

"You're an old man, inside and out," she teased, smacking a kiss to my cheek before settling herself on the couch beside me. I held my hand to my chest, feigning heartbreak.

"You wound me with your cruel words," I said dramatically, wiping an imaginary tear from my cheek with my index finger. She just laughed.

"You love me anyway," she said cockily.

"I do," I confessed, as she leaned in to kiss me again. I could feel her smile through the kiss.

We watched the remainder of the movie, and then another, eating Greek food I ordered for her because apparently she had a craving for souvlaki that could not be denied. After the second movie, she announced that it was time for bed, so I cleaned up dinner as she showered and met her in the bedroom. She was already tucked into bed, sitting upright and waiting for me so she could settle herself across my body as per usual.

I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into the bed, lying down and letting her drape herself across me. I certainly didn't mind.

"You know," she mused through a yawn, "you never gave me that strip tease you promised me the first night I came back here."

"I'm saving it for a special occasion," I told her seriously even though there was no way that it would ever happen.

"Tease," she mumbled, settling herself onto my chest. I inhaled the sweet smell of her, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She returned the kiss, placing one on my chest as I leaned over and turned off the bedside light. It was followed a moment later by another, slightly higher up, and then another. I soon realised that she was moving her way up to my face, and when her teeth grazed my jaw gently, I let out a frustrated groan.

"Bella, no."

"Why not?"

"Because, Bella, you're drunk and after last night... no."

"But I want to."

"No, you don't."

"Please. Show me I'm yours. I can't get rid of him and I want you to replace it."

As much as I wanted to remind her that I was the only one who could make her body respond to me, I knew that this was a bad idea considering what she'd been through the night before.

"I'm not doing this as some reaction to what happened. We can talk about it if you want to, but this isn't a good idea."

She sat up sharply, her body tensed with anger that I could feel even in the dark of the room.

"I don't want to talk about it, I want to do something about it."

"Bella, no," I said firmly. I heard a loud sniffle and then sighed, flicking on the bedside lamp to lay eyes on the crying, beautiful girl sitting next to me. She was cross-legged, head bowed and hair covering her face. Her fingers were locked in her hair, tugging with frustration. Gently, I coaxed her hands away from her head and held them in mine. She still refused to look away from her feet.

"Bella," I said softly, "look at me."

"No," she spat, a coughing sob cutting off the end of her word.

"Bella."

She slowly looked up, shaking her hair out of her face so that she could make eye contact. I freed one of my hands to wipe the tears from her flushed face.

"I just wanted you to make me feel better," she said pitifully, her eyes darting to my face and then away periodically, seeming embarrassed. I cupped her cheek lovingly.

"I know, baby, but that isn't the way to deal with this. You know I love you, and I want you to feel better, but not like that."

The tears continued to run down her face, but at least the sobs at quelled.

"I… I can't stop thinking about it, and I've had at least four showers in the past 24 hours, but they make no difference at all. I know it's silly, but when I'm with you… everything else disappears, it's like we're in a bubble and it's just us. I just wanted that, just for a little while."

My heart ached for my girl, that she was suffering so immensely, but I knew that us having sex tonight was not going to help her in anyway. I leaned forward and kissed her gently, trying to impart as much love and support as I could in the action. I pressed my forehead to hers, hoping the close proximity would sooth her, at least in part.

"Bella, I'm here. I'm right here, and it's just us."

She nodded slowly, although she was still crying and her face hadn't lightened at all.

"I love you," I stated again, suspecting that she needed the reassurance. She sighed and leaned back.

"I know. I'm sorry, I'm being silly." She swiped at the tears on her face and I pulled her hands away, holding onto them firmly.

"No, you're not. Something terrible happened to you last night, and you need to respond to it however you feel you need to. The crying is a good thing, even if it doesn't feel like it now."

With that, the tears started up in force again, including the heaving sobs and sniffles. I pulled her to me, laying us both down with her head pressed into the space between my neck and shoulder. She shuffled herself closer and closer, until the point where I pulled her on top of me completely. There was nothing sexual about the gesture, I was just trying to calm her with my proximity, as well as myself. I was trying so hard to hold it together, to not let my barely controlled anger get the better of me. She didn't need to see it right now, she needed my support and level-headedness while she dealt with her own emotions.

I wrapped my arms around her little body and held her as she cried it out, her sobs eventually slowing. After a while, her breathing evened out and her tears stopped, and I knew she'd fallen asleep. I shifted her off me and wrapped my body around hers, holding her as close as I could.

She slept restlessly, twitching and tossing her head around throughout the night. I found that the only way to stop her moving was to stroke her back gently as she slept, the repetitive rhythm seeming to calm her a little. I barely slept a wink, constantly on alert to any sign of serious distress from her. Now that the shock (and the alcohol) had worn off, I was bracing for some kind of reaction, particularly in her sleep when her thoughts were unguarded. I could only imagine what kind of things were taunting her within the confines of her own mind, and the most frustrating part was that I could do nothing to protect her from them. The logical part of me told me that it needed to happen, she needed to cope with it, but the look of sheer distress on her face as she slept had me sorely tempted to try and do something, anything to make her feel better.

Failure gripped me with excruciating force, because as much as I struggled against it, there was nothing I could do to undo the damage.

**AN: Where would we authors be without emoward?**

**Only a couple more chappies to go, I'm afraid, laydayz, before we kiss this story goodbye *wipes away tear***

**Ok, so I've just started penning my new story, and I'm fairly certain it'll be my best work ever... that's right, evah. I'm thinking i might do this one properly, pre-readers, betas, the whole shebang, and that's where you lovely ladies come in. I'm looking for someone (or someones) to help me out. Fangmom, if you're reading this (and you better be), you've already been conscripted without your knowledge, so you don't need to respond to this call in any capacity.**

**Others of you out there who would be interested, shoot me a review or a pm! Ideally, i'd love someone who writes themselves, so if you do, let me know and i'll check out your stuff, see if we can make this work!**

**If you don't offer, i'll hate you forever, you lazy a-hole. Kidding! (Not kidding.)**

**Love Love!**

**Netra**


	29. Chapter 29

Ok Go - I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe

**Bella POV**

Those first few moments, just seconds after you've woken and nothing else exists yet are sometimes the best of your day. When I woke up beside Edward, I took a my customary second to revel in my good fortune. I was wrapped up in his bed, his body draped around mine, and everything was perfect.

That is, until reality came crashing back down on me like a ton of bricks.

In the harsh, unforgiving (at least for me, Edward managed to look perfect 24 hours a day, regardless of his state of consciousness) light of the morning, I was absolutely mortified by my actions of the previous night. Shamelessly throwing myself at Edward asking for forget-the-bad-touches sex was probably the stupidest thing I could have done.

If I'd gotten my way, my wicked way as it were, and Edward had slept with me, I would have completely regretted it this morning. As much as it irked me, he was right about that. So he, in a characteristically perfect and gentlemanly move, had politely and sweetly refused me, which led me to the situation I was currently in.

I just got cleverer and cleverer with every passing day.

Edward must have been offended. There was no other reasonable response. I could only imagine if the situation were reversed. Some woman tried to stick her hand down his pants, so he ran away from me without a backwards glance, got wasted and showed up at my door asking for sex, because he wanted to see if he could use my body to induce amnesia. How romantic.

I pushed my face into my hands, scrubbing them roughly against my eyes in an attempt to alleviate some of my embarrassment and horror at my own actions, before slithering out of bed, managing successfully not to wake him. He looked really tired. Lovely, as per usual, but exhausted. Knowing me, I'd probably kneed him in the balls during my sleep, just to add insult to injury.

I pulled my jeans and shirt back on and then wandered into the kitchen, scrounging for supplies for a I'm-sorry-I-tried-to-molest-you breakfast. Because Edward was completely incompetent in the kitchen, cooking a meal always seemed to impress him more than it would the average person, so I figured this was a good way to start with my profuse, multi-phased apology. So far, I only had this phase, but I was sure I'd come up with more.

I was halfway to having something ready before realising that we had no bread… or coffee grounds. I smacked my hands to my face and dragged them downwards, because this was just my fucking luck. I ducked into the living room, pulled on my boots and coat and darted out the door, popping into this pretentious little supermarket where I located bread, coffee, and freshly squeezed juice, the smell of which overrode my issue with the insanely high price I was paying for it. Sufficiently impressed with my skills as a good girlfriend, I dashed back to the apartment, glad to have not lost any fingers to the morning chill.

I let myself back in only to find Edward waiting just behind the door, frantically searching for his keys, which I had stolen when I ran my errand.

"Bella!"

"Uh… hey," I said warily, not understanding the expression that crossed his face when he saw me. He took two long strides over to me and swept me up in his arms, lifting me nearly a foot off the ground and making me drop my bag of supplies on the floor.

"You're here," he breathed into my hair, and I wrapped my arms around him, laughing in confusion.

"I know you're into me, but sheesh, this is a little needy even for you, old man," I teased, locking my fingers into his hair and pulling his face back so I could look into his pretty eyes. He laughed, relief saturating his tone.

"I thought you'd left," he explained.

"Of course not!" I told him, shocked he'd even thought that I'd do something like that. Although I had… more than once. God, I'd really done a number on the guy with my various inadequacies.

"I thought, after last night, you might have run," he said, still holding me off the ground.

"As understandable as that would have been considering how significantly I embarrassed myself, that isn't the case," I informed him, trying to sound casual. "I went to get stuff to make you a kickass sorry-i-tried-to-bully-you-into-sex-like-a-18-year-old-boy-at-his-senior-prom breakfast."

He laughed again, louder this time, at my rambling before setting me back on my feet. I reached down to pick up my spoils, internally rejoicing that my absurdly expensive juice hadn't been spilled.

"You have nothing to apologise for, but I will take you up on the free meal," he said playfully and winked at me. My hand whipped out to smack his t-shirt covered chest, but he caught it, holding onto it as we made our way into the kitchen. I put on the coffee and returned my attention to getting breakfast onto plates, busying myself because I knew he was watching, waiting for a conversation opener, and I really didn't want to talk about it.

I set his food down and he ate a few mouthfuls, looking impressed with my culinary skills, as per usual. Only someone with his level of cooking talent would appreciate mine, but I didn't mind, as it was one of the very few things I could do better than him. Eventually I managed to force myself to woman up, and spoke.

"So… I'm sorry about last night." My words were muffled by a mouthful of toast, but the sentiment was there.

"Uh, what?" he asked, and I realised that my words weren't as easy to understand as I thought. I swallowed loudly and spoke again.

"I'm sorry for the whole attempted-guilt-sex thing I pulled last night."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, princess," he assured me immediately. I rolled my eyes, knowing that this was exactly what he'd do because according to him, I was capable of no wrong.

"So you're saying I was completely within my rights to do that to you?" I questioned, my voice sardonic. He looked down briefly, and I could tell he was about to try and lawyer his way out of this. He looked up, his face carefully composed, and took a breath before delivering his speech.

"I understand why you felt the need to respond to Thanksgiving in that way, and I would never blame you for that. However, it didn't seem like a good idea, and as much as I'm sorry I upset you, I stand by my decision that sex wasn't the best way to deal with what happened."

Ladies and gentleman, my boyfriend the attorney. No wonder he was so successful, he was damn good at saying nothing while saying a lot. I had no idea how to argue with what he said, so I just nodded, feeling embarrassed that I couldn't find a single issue with what he was saying. I felt bad about what I'd done, but he'd completely dismissed my grounds for apologising.

He smirked when he saw my need to argue gleaming in my eyes, and as frustration furrowed my eyebrows, the smirk evolved to a fully fledged smug smile. I pouted at him, trying to look downtrodden. If he was going to lawyer me, I was going to girl him.

"Don't lawyer me," I whimpered, "it's not fair."

His smile lost its victorious edge as he took in my pitiful expression. He reached out a hand and stroked my face with his fingertips, while trying to catch my downcast gaze.

"Bella," he cooed, his voice sweet and his smile soft, "I see straight through you. Stop pouting."

Busted.

My lips curled up slightly as I tried not to give in and acknowledge that I was trying to play him. Apparently, my old tricks didn't work as well as they used to.

"Fine," I huffed. "I'll never apologise for molesting you again."

"You never should, because you coming onto me is not something you should apologise for," he said and then swiftly uprooted me from my seat and yanked me into his lap, my surprised cry making him laugh. I shoved my remaining toast into his open mouth, silencing him as I scowled at his mockery. He stopped laughing, but pressed his smiling, crumb-covered mouth to mine.

Even though I pushed his face away and made a big show of brushing the crumbs off my lips and chin, we both knew I loved it.

Two days later, when the Thanksgiving incident was all but forgotten and neatly confined to the deepest recesses of my memory, I received a phone call from Alice. Apparently, she and Esme felt absolutely horrific about what had transpired, and wanted to take me to lunch to get a chance to properly apologise. I immediately dismissed that, but agreed to lunch nonetheless, because I was extremely fond of the women, and frankly, needed some girl friends in my life other than Liam.

They met me at Edward's apartment, as was our normal protocol, town car waiting out the front, and we climbed in, heading out for high tea, something that Esme was absolutely mortified to discover I had never done before. Apparently, this was something that simply had to be experienced. Accordingly, Alice had informed me of the strict dress regulations and sent me a dress to wear, more so because she hated my fashion sense than because the event actually required such lovely dress, I suspected. I wasn't going to complain though, because everything Alice ever gave me to wear was absolutely magnificent.

We arrived at one of New York's fanciest hotels, and I was abruptly gripped with gratitude that Alice had dressed me, because there was nothing I owned, or likely would ever buy for myself, that was even close to appropriate for this sort of place. I looked at her, my eyes brimming with how thankful I was, and she rolled her eyes knowingly, probably thinking of the way I'd whined about the cost of my outfit.

A balding guy in a tuxedo seated us, and I tried to pretend I wasn't a little surprised when he set a napkin down in my lap, with a more than slightly effeminate flourish. That didn't surprise me, considering he worked in an unbelievably ornate tea room, having tea parties every day. The room had a faint smell of Chanel No. 5, as if it had sunk into the walls from the constant exposure.

I hated to admit it, but being there made me feel like a bit of a princess, and I was loving it. Although I was trying really hard not to think about how expensive the china probably was, considering my tendency to ruin pretty, costly things that came within my general area.

We were having a lovely time, and I was managing to neatly avoid the topic of Thanksgiving by keeping conversation going and prodding Esme for as much embarrassing information on Edward as I could get. I almost wished I'd brought a recorder, because this stuff was priceless. Apparently Baby Edward liked nudity even more than Adult Edward, although there was no way I'd ever tell Esme that. Alice would have murdered me right at the table. She even had pictures, which helped, because it was hard to imagine the sex god of a man that I knew as an awkward, often-nude child doing a myriad of embarrassingly adorable things. The stories were all fairly innocent, and I had a feeling that Alice had a lot more information than she was currently letting out, although I would wait until Esme was no longer around to get it.

We were laughing together at one anecdote involving a 4-year-old Alice roping a 7-year-old Edward into performing a dance routine with her in drag when Esme's face soured abruptly. I looked over my shoulder to see Jessica sitting at a table behind me, with two other women and a fourth seat empty.

Just fucking great.

I immediately returned my gaze to Alice, assuming that we'd be leaving immediately. I really, really didn't want to be in the same room as the woman.

"Jesus Christ," Alice muttered, and Esme didn't even bother to correct her on her profanity. She was focused on her phone, presumably contacting the driver to let him know he'd be needed a lot sooner than we originally intended. Moments later, she looked up at us again.

"Paul will be here in 5 minutes with the car," she told us, her eyes flickering to Jessica's table and then widening.

"Which apparently," Alice interjected, "won't be soon enough."

I turned slowly, already knowing what was coming before I saw it. Jessica was striding towards the table, the women seated at her table bearing hungry, excited expressions. They were looking forward to the impending blood bath.

I tried to brace myself for whatever was coming, but I truly had no idea. Going with the assumption that it was going to be brutal seemed the logical option.

"How dare you show your face here," Jessica snarled, settling her hateful stare on me, and I returned it with equal intensity, although I was quietly dying on the inside. Esme threw her napkin on the table, catching both of our attention.

"Excuse me, Jessica," she sneered with a distain that seemed unnatural coming from her, "but you have absolutely no right to try and dictate where Bella, or anyone else goes."

"I absolutely do," she said petulantly.

"And what gives you that impression?" Esme asked condescendingly.

"I earned that right when she tried to _fuck my husband_ at Thanksgiving!"

As I recoiled in complete horror at the brutal words, Alice gasped and shoved her chair back roughly, looking for all the world like she was about to hit the woman. I grabbed her wrist, holding her in the seat, because I absolutely needed her beside me right now. She wrapped her hand around mine and squeezed it, although the tension in her undermined the attempt to calm me.

Esme didn't respond to the words in any visible way.

"Jessica," she started, her voice eerily calm and even, "you are embarrassing yourself. I suggest you leave right now, because I can assure you that if you continue with this… atrocity you are putting on, you will only make yourself look more ridiculous. It would not be in you, or your husband's interests for you to persist in this effort to try and malign someone who is very close to my son, and accordingly, myself."

Jessica laughed, the sound rich with malice.

"As if you care about me or my Michael's best interests!" she yelled and Alice scoffed at her dramatic language. "First, your son's little whore tries to have her way with him, and you're your daughter's husband proceeds to beat him up because she lied and said that it was something other than consensual! Everyone knows what Isabella is like, so why she even bothered lying is a mystery to me, and I for one think I'm entitled to answers!"

Her eyes settled on me again, and I looked down, trying my hardest not to give this woman the satisfaction of seeing me cry. It was almost impossible, but I was far too proud to give in.

"Really," she added, flickering her eyes back to Esme, "you should be proud of your children and the… _people_," she sneered, "they associate themselves with. You know what they say… birds of a feather flock together."

Those words pushed me to my limit. It was one thing for her to cut me down, because I could only imagine what her husband told her about our altercation, but there was no doubt that Esme and her family were some of the most upstanding people I knew. Just as I was about to open my mouth, I was cut off.

"Jessica, please tell me I just misheard you."

I'd recognise that melodic, soul-shatteringly perfect voice and the person connected to it anywhere. Apparently, the fourth member of Jessica's party had arrived.

"Oh! Oh…" Jessica stuttered, and I revelled in her discomfort. "I didn't mean you, Rosalie… of course not. What I meant was -"

"You meant what you said," the blonde insisted with a quiet power in her voice that demanded attention. "And what you said was that the people who associate with the Cullens are… less than desirable, and as a result the Cullens themselves are the same."

"I didn't mean it like that -"

"My family and I have been friends with the Cullen family for many years. Did you know that, Jessica?"

Of course she knew that. I was absolutely loving this, it was appeasing all my most vindictive desires. Jessica's facial expression looked like she was being disembowelled, and I supposed, in a way, she was. Rosalie continued without giving Jessica the chance to respond.

"You may not know this about me, Jessica, but I care very, very deeply for my family, and the people that they care about. I have known the Cullens a lot longer than I have known you, and despite our… differences of late, I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are on a level that you cannot even contemplate, let alone ever even hope to achieve in your lifetime.

"I think it would be best if you held onto the tattered shreds of your dignity and left now. If you think it necessary to come to a place that I frequent, and speak such ridiculous lies on my behalf, you are certainly no friend of mine."

As Jessica ran back to her table, snatched up her bag and ran out the ornate doors of the tea room, I felt like giving Rosalie a round of applause. She leaned closer to the table, making a point of meeting Esme, Alice's and my eyes individually. Alice held her eyes a moment longer than the rest of us, something that confused me slightly, even in my haze of shock and confusion.

"I apologise for Jessica. Her behaviour was completely inappropriate." Her voice was quiet, smooth and devoid of any emotion, but seemed surprisingly genuine. I was completely taken aback.

"Not at all, Rosalie," Esme said, mirroring her tone, before signalling the balding man. "Enjoy your afternoon."

"You too, Esme. Alice," she greeted, and Alice nodded once, that look in her eye again. Rosalie paused, looked down at the table, then back up. Straight at me.

"Bella," she addressed me directly, for the first time ever, and I looked up, thoroughly surprised. She flicked her eyes back to Alice once more, turning on her heel and sauntering back over to meet her two companions. As soon as she was seated, they leaned in, obviously wanting to know what had transpired. She waved her hand lazily and they immediately leaned back, taking her commands with practiced ease.

Esme's phone went off, and we gathered together our belongings and left the tea room, pausing only to say a polite goodbye to the host, who seemed genuinely heartbroken that we were leaving.

I sat in the car, completely silent, as Esme and Alice discussed what had just transpired. Esme seemed shocked, although Alice seemed strangely accepting of the situation. I on the other hand, fumbled through the events over and over, trying to figure out what had just transpired.

So Mike Newton told everyone I'd asked for it. As much as it didn't really surprise me, it seemed to add another layer to the violation I already felt. All the things Jessica said about me weren't exactly shocking either, but the way she managed to pin my actions onto Edward's family was something I found much more distressing.

Esme and Alice dropped me off at Edward's place, and I flopped down onto the couch, turning on the TV but not bothering to pay any attention to what was playing. Edward arrived home some time later, and I was still in that very position. The front door closing broke me from my trance.

"Hey, princess," he said cheerfully, leaning over the back of the couch to press a kiss to my hair, before walking around it and taking a seat next to me. I linked our hands together, a primeval desire being met as soon as I was touching him. It was weird and needy, but his lips curling upward made it clear it was the same for him, so I felt less silly for it.

"What are you watching?"

"Uh… I'm not sure," I admitted. He tilted his head to the side, looking at my quizzically.

"What happened today with my mother and Alice?"

"Uh… there was an incident."

His face shifted from mild confusion to barely contained anger in a second.

"What kind of incident?" he asked, his voice unnaturally even.

"Well… er… Jessica was there. She said some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

The look on his face had me backtracking immediately.

"Oh… nothing of interest."

"Bella," he warned, "I'll just call Alice if you won't tell me."

Apparently, avoidance was off the table, so I figured it was best to just get it all out there, and hope that he wouldn't go too batshit crazy, because I really didn't need him to do that right now. With my eyes intently focused on our linked hands, I spoke.

"Well… she accused me of throwing myself at Mike and then lying when I got caught… then she said some stuff about how my being a whore and Jasper being violent makes a pretty clear statement about the calibre of people your family involves themselves with, and so about your family themselves."

I looked up, and his expression was livid. Shit, shit, shit.

"Look, it was all sorted out, she got put in her place. Everything's fine, no need for a murder today."

"Really?" he asked, voice riddled with scepticism.

"Yes, really," I replied snidely.

"And who delivered this retribution to Jessica Newton?"

"Uh…"

I immediately regretted bringing any of this up.

"Who? Was it Alice? My mother?"

"Actually… it was Rosalie."

**AN: I wonder what our beloved LawyerWard has to say about this development? And what's our dear Alice up to?**

**Thanks for birthday love and robporn (you know who you are). Being 20 is horrible, but my daddy dearest has decided that now that I'm all grown up, I should go to Europe on my own next July, and has offered his services to pay for my ticket there. London, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam, Athens, I'm looking at you. Who wants me to come stay their crib? Any takers? No?**

**Whatever, I didn't even want to.**

**Question of the day: what's your opinion on slashfic?**


	30. Chapter 30

Breakneck Speed - Tokyo Police Club

**Edward POV**

Rosalie?

My ex-wife, Rosalie.

"Wow."

"I know," Bella agreed, looking almost as dazed as I'm sure I did. I shook my head, clearing the confusing thought, because there were more important things to think about than wondering why Rosalie would have done something that. I pulled Bella into my lap, knowing that close proximity usually helped calm her when I was talking to her about something she wasn't especially eager to discuss.

"So, how are you feeling about everything?" I asked, keeping my voice quiet and soothing.

"About what?" she replied innocently, obviously trying to stall.

"About what Jessica said."

"Oh. That."

"Yes, that." I tried hard not to roll my eyes, seeing through her transparent attempts to drag this out. Obviously, she wanted to avoid this topic, which probably meant she was more hurt than she was letting on.

My silly girl.

"Come on, Bella," I pleaded, "talk to me."

She sighed heavily.

"Well, yeah, what she said was pretty out of line, but I'm not exactly surprised that he told her that's how it went down. I mean, with my reputation, it's not that hard to believe." Her tone was sad, but accepting, as if this was an inevitability she would just have to get accustomed to.

My arms tightened around her as I tried to control the fury bubbling within me. It seemed that no matter what we did, or where we went, we couldn't escape the way our relationship had started. I just wished I could release a statement or something, get the truth out there about how I had pursued Bella, initially without her even knowing that I was married and also that my wife was by no means a victim in this situation. Why people, namely Jessica Newton, felt it necessary to involve themselves in a situation they had no understanding of infuriated me to the point of insanity.

Especially because it was Bella who was paying the price for it.

I dropped my chin to her shoulder, burying my nose in her hair and taking comfort from her closeness and the way that she smelled, like her strawberry shampoo, the light citrusy perfume she wore during the day, and a faint hint of cigarette smoke. There was nothing else like it, and I was sure that if you gave someone else all the things she used to create that smell, it would be nowhere near as lovely as it was on her.

I was truly starting to wonder how I had survived 31 years of life without her.

"Bella," I started, my voice muffled by the skin of her shoulder, "you shouldn't have to put up with this. You shouldn't have to be forced to deal with the trivialities of this group of people who we care nothing about, people who go out of their way to make your life difficult out of sheer boredom."

"What do you suggest we do?" she asked, a teasing tone in her voice. She clearly thought that there was no other way by which we could live. That this treatment, this living in fear of judgement and ridicule, was inevitable, and that we'd just have to get used to it. I sighed hard, because at that moment, she was completely right, there was nothing we could do. Her fingers knotted into my hair, combing through it in a motion she often did when she could tell I was tense.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit me. My head shot up, making her flinch slightly at my rapid movement.

She was wrong, and I was a genius.

Bella focused on my victorious smile, her own face belying her confusion.

"London." It was so obvious now.

"London, Arkansas?" she asked.

"Yes Bella, London, Arkansas," I deadpanned before rolling my eyes at her. "Of course not. London, England."

"Well how was I supposed to just know that?" she asked indignantly.

"How did you even know there was a London, Arkansas?" I mirrored her tone.

"I may or may not have an addiction to Google Maps," she admitted, looking embarrassed as I laughed loudly.

"You are so weird," I told her, earning a half-assed smack to my chest.

"So now that that's all cleared up," she said dramatically, "why are you shouting out the names of British capitals?"

"Only one British capital, thank you very much. Well…" I trailed off, feeling suddenly nervous about this as I realised that I hadn't thought this through in the slightest. I took a deep breath and started again. "My firm has a London office, and they're looking for another partner. This is something that, from a professional standpoint, would be a very good thing for me. Now, with all the bullshit and ridiculousness that seems to surround us like a foul stench, I'm starting to think that it could be a good personal move as well."

Bella's eyes left mine, looking contemplative. She then removed herself from my lap, seating herself a far away from me as the couch would allow.

"So…" she mused, still looking away with her voice oddly low, "you're saying that you want to move to London."

"Well, it could be a good thing, especially in light of all the weirdness. I don't want to live like this forever, Princess. Getting away from all of the bullshit would be a huge relief. The timing probably won't get a lot better than it is now. It'd be a fresh start."

Abruptly, she stood, pacing to the other side of the room and then back to within arms reach of me, only to move away again. Her fingers drove into her hair, down her face then fisted in front of her before dropping to her sides. I let her process, sitting in silence while she thought things through, although I couldn't fathom where all this agitation was coming from. Suddenly, she looked up, eyes alight with an aggression I didn't understand.

"I don't… I can't believe… So you want to end this and go to London?"

"I… I think it could be a good thing for everybody." I was hesitant, because she seemed furious.

She seemed so angry. I understood if she didn't want to do this, but there was no reason for such a violent response to my offer. It was simply a suggestion and she seemed to be getting infuriated over it.

"After everything we went through, you just want to wave goodbye and fuck off to London, leaving me behind to deal with the mess we got into together?"

I nearly fell off the couch.

"Bella, what are you talking about?"

"You just told me that you were tired of dealing with the drama, and a professional opportunity had opened up for you in London, so you were thinking about going."

Fuck.

No wonder she looked so livid.

"God, no, Bella!" I cried, my eyes wide as saucers as I tried to wade through the ridiculousness of her conclusion. "I meant that we'd go together!"

Her eyes narrowed, as she tried to evaluate my sincerity.

"You didn't say we," she accused.

"I thought it was obvious!" I yelled a little too loudly, before making an effort to calm myself back down to a reasonable level. "Bella, I think of you and I as a single unit. It never once occurred to me to even put this suggestion on the table without operating under the assumption that you would come with me if I went anywhere. I don't like leaving the apartment without you, how the flying fuck would I cope a continent away?"

The sheer notion that she thought I would ditch her, for work nonetheless, was laughable to me. However, I didn't laugh, because I had a sneaking suspicion she'd beat the crap out of me if I did. She looked completely mortified that her suspicions had been false, and as the anger melted off her face, the vulnerability came out.

I jumped off the couch and pulled her into my arms, dwarfing her little body with my tall one. Her hands hung limply at her sides, and I could tell she was trying to hide her feelings.

"Bella, I would never go anywhere without you. I want you to come with me, and if you don't want to, then I won't be going anywhere."

Silence descended upon the room, and no more words needed to pass between us. My hands rubbed up and down her back and slowly, her hands drifted up to grasp onto my t-shirt.

"I'm sorry I went crazy," she said, her words muffled by her face being pressed to my chest. "I just worry that this might have been too much for you to cope with, for your family too. I hate that I do this to you."

I gently pulled her back down to the couch, wanting to see her face as I spoke to her.

"You don't do anything bad to me, I don't think it's possible," I assured her. "I'm sick of New York, and all the shit that happens here, and London could be a really good thing for us, if you're interested. I have some family over there, my grandparents live a couple of hours out of London, and there are art galleries a plenty and many beautiful things for you to photograph. It could be amazing."

"I guess photography can happen anywhere," she mused, and I could see her warming to the idea.

"It could," I agreed, not wanting to interrupt her thought process.

"But…"

"But?"

"What about Alice? Your parents? Liam?" she asked, looking increasingly distressed as the words left her mouth.

" Alice loves London, or more specifically, the clothing she can acquire there, and it's close proximity to Paris, where she can acquire more clothing." Bella smiled slightly at this, evidently not surprised. "My mother would probably love it, as it would give her more of an excuse to drag Carlisle over to visit her parents. As for Liam, he would be welcome any time you wanted to see him. You could probably even give him his own bedroom in wherever we end up living. God knows I can afford it," I said cockily to lighten the mood a little, making her roll her eyes but smile even wider.

"Can we live in a pretty townhouse that looks like 10 Downing Street?"

"Whatever you want, princess," I said indulgently, knowing that I'd happily give her whatever she asked for. Her face had an almost childlike element of innocent excitement, and I could see that the idea was growing on her.

"This is… oh my god, this is really exciting!" she cried, jumping a little in my lap. "I've always wanted to live overseas!"

I laughed at her antics, beaming that I was able to make her act like this.

"Alright," I told her, "I'll call the London office tomorrow and see what we can do."

"Yay!" she squealed, throwing her leg over my body to straddle me as she planted a big kiss on my lips. Within moments, all talk of moving was abandoned in favour of a far more interesting pass time involving our mouths and various other appendages.

In the six weeks that followed, I, with pretty substantial assistance from my mother, had everything organised. Bella and I would be moving into a Downing-street-reminiscent townhouse in what Esme described as a fantastic neighbourhood, not far from my office, or the several galleries Bella had been in contact with regarding a new place of employment. Despite me telling her that I was more than happy to support her while she did her photography thing, she insisted that not only did she love the work, but she refused to sit around our house all day like 'a glorified hooker, skanking around the house in slutty underwear for your entertainment when you come home from work'. She said that was a hobby, not a full time vocation. I relented, only on the condition that she maintained it as a hobby.

Alice, however, still seemed slightly less than impressed with our decision.

"Edward, you're being a fucking idiot," she snapped into the phone, and I rolled my eyes, completely used to and bored with what she was about to say.

"There is no reason for you to leave New York," we said in unison as I predicted the words coming out of her mouth with perfect accuracy. She growled into the phone, a strange noise that for some reason suited her perfectly.

"Alice," I groaned, for what felt like the thousandth time, "this is already happening. It's done! We both want a new start away from all of the drama and bullshit of New York. I've signed the contracts with the London office, the house is bought, there is nothing you can say or do that can make any difference."

"I already did enough to make the difference, but you didn't even fucking notice!" she cried, and I paused, confused.

"What did you do?"

"It does even matter now," she spat rather petulantly for a woman her age.

"Alice," I warned with my tone, earning me a heavy sigh in response. "Tell me what you did."

"Fine," she huffed, "I'll tell you, even though I'm pretty sure you're going to get all bitchy about it."

"Tell me," I repeated, making no promises about my reaction. I knew what my sister was like, and knew that if she hadn't told me, there was a good reason for it.

"Well," she said, stalling as she tried to put together the least offensive version of her tale. "After what happened at the Thanksgiving event, it occurred to me that Rosalie may well have put Jessica up to her ridiculousness, and that just wasn't going to fly."

"Mmhmm…" I urged her on when she stopped speaking.

"So I may or may not have tracked down some evidence about Rosalie's various indiscretions, which I may or may not have put together in a lovely little package and sent to her."

"Alice! What did I tell you about staying out of her life? I didn't want to play that game, you know that!"

"Look Edward, she needed to know that even if you weren't willing to fight fire with fire, I absolutely was." My sister was indignant now, trying to defend her actions.

"That doesn't mean -"

"Anyway," she continued, cutting me off, "Rosalie then contacted me, expressing an apology on Jessica's behalf and saying that she bore our family no bad blood at all. Yes, what happened at the tea rooms was unfortunate, but Rosalie is off your back now, she won't cause any more trouble, and neither will her cronies after what happened to Jessica, so there's absolutely no reason for you to scuttle off to England like a cockroach!"

I found myself at a loss for words. After an inordinate period of awkward silence passed between us, Alice spoke again, her voice finally displaying some of the remorse that convinced me that she was still a human being.

"Edward? Are you there?"

"Alice," I said, my voice strangely level, "this move is going ahead, despite your protests and convoluted plots to circumvent our decision. I love you, and you are my sister, but what you did was completely inappropriate. I recognise that in your view, you were trying to protect us, but please, never ever do anything like that again to anyone. You do not need to involve yourself in the lives of others, especially without talking to them about what you're going to do."

She sighed deeply again.

"Fine, Edward. I won't do anything else to get in the middle of your life."

"Thank you. Now, please get rid of the evidence you gathered about my ex wife because it makes me slightly uncomfortable that you have it."

"No way," she scoffed. "You might be running away to England, but I'll still be in New York, and this ammo is enough to keep Rosalie of my, and Esme's backs for the rest of our days, which means never again will have to put on the farce of attending one of their events unless I actually want to. Although, I struggle to imagine a situation where that would be the case."

I laughed lightly at her dramatic words, and the mood was lifted at once. We talked for a short while longer, mainly about how often would be too often for visits, and how willing I would be to come and see her. I argued that because of her lack of occupation and the casual nature of Jasper's, it made much more sense for her to visit with me rather than vice versa. She then proceeded to lecture me on how being a mother was more strenuous than anything I would ever do in my life, and that my being childless meant I should be the one visiting her. We bickered on and on, knowing full well that either of us would drop anything to visit the other and the point was entirely redundant.

After I finally managed to get my sister off the line, I wandered around my apartment and what we were doing actually started to sink in. I would miss this place, it had been my solace for so long, my hiding place in whirlwind of lies and trivialities and total bullshit. The memories it held, mostly of the last few months, were ones that I hoped to hold into forever. In the spirit of this, the dining table was one of the few items of furniture that would be moving with us. I couldn't bear the thought of being parted from it after what had happened there.

For one small moment, I allowed myself to be a little sad that this part of my life was over. I had fallen in love in New York, gained, lost, and regained all the things I never knew were the most important of all. Those thoughts made me smile and I realised that I didn't need this place, or any place, to make myself happy. I had Bella, and that, for me, was more than enough.

**AN: Awwwwwwwwwwww. What a sap.**

**Ok, so after this there will be one more official chapter, and then there'll be an epilogue coming. And then we're over, red rover.**

***Weeps***

**Never fret my lovelies, I have lots and lots of new things coming your way, as well as a couple of outtakes from this story I may just post for you *cough* dining table *cough*. So throw me on author alert and then you can see the wonders I'll eventually come up with.**

**Add me on twitter, biznitches! Right now. Do it. netracullen. I said now. And in your reviews (or on twitter), tell me what you thought of Eclipse. I fecking loved it.**

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**Over and out.**


	31. Chapter 31

**AN: ARGH, OVER 1000 REVIEWS! Thanks so much, bbz. I have love and sexy times for all of you, but unfortunately, you'll have to come and collect them because I can't afford a round-the-world plane ticket right now.**

**This one is for those of you who read my story on your blackberries, because that shiz is really, really strenuous on your scrolling finger. I salute you.**

Beck - Missing

**Bella POV**

"You are a disgusting whore, do you know that? You make me physically ill." There was no hiding the malice in his voice.

"I'm not doing anything you wouldn't do if given the chance," I spat back.

"Give me an hour alone with him, and I'll do things you wouldn't even think of in your dirtiest fantasies… hell, it'd probably be a learning experience for him." I rolled my eyes at the confidence in his voice.

"He doesn't need to learn anything, not that you'll ever find that out for yourself."

"God, you are such a bitch!" he whined, before stomping off. I laughed heartily at his theatrics.

"I love you, Garrett!" I sang as he left the room, only to see his middle finger shoot up at me from around the doorframe. A moment later, his perfectly coiffed head swung around, plastered with a huge smile.

"Love you too," he said sweetly before returning to the back room. I smiled to myself and turned up the music in the gallery, dancing around as I took a feather duster to the pieces.

We had been in London for about 2 weeks when I realised that this was the city I should have been born. It was, without a doubt, the most fantastic place I had ever been. I was now employed in a fairly successful medium sized gallery that showcased up-and-coming young talent as well as some modern classics, and I loved everything about it already. If not for Alice and Liam, it would have been easy to feel like I'd never had a life outside of this one.

After 3 months, everything seemed to have fallen perfectly into place. Edward seemed to be happy where he was, despite having a few discrepancies to overcome having been trained as an attorney in America, but he was a clever boy and was picking everything up perfectly. That said, even if he hadn't, it would be a cold day in hell before he ever got me away from London now.

It was April here, and the sky fluctuated between dove grey and a pale blue, meaning that as I wondered around the city, I found myself more inspired than ever before. Our home - the most beautiful townhouse I could ever have imagined - was littered with photos, in frames or simple canvas prints, breathing life into our place. While I didn't have any of my own stuff showing just yet, I was in talks with a couple of galleries, including mine, to get some stuff up in the near future.

Garrett and I shut down the gallery that Thursday evening and he escorted me on the short walk home, huddling into my jacket as the rain pattered down gently. As much as the rain irked me, it was a million times better than the snow and almost pitch black days of midwinter when we had arrived. Of course, Edward and I occasionally combated the weather by spending whole days in bed, the memories of which caused distraction and mild light-headedness nearly every time I thought of them.

When we arrived outside my door, I turned to Garrett, hoping that he was no longer pissy with me about the plans I had for the evening that were causing him so much jealousy. It seemed that no matter where I was in the world, I was destined to have a gay best friend who lusted after Edward.

Not that I blamed them.

"Well," I said with a dramatic sigh, "I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going inside for a night of phenomenal times with my awe-inspiringly gorgeous beau."

Garrett's expression was stony.

"I don't want to hear about it. By which I mean, I want to hear everything about it, and possibly some video footage if you can get some." I laughed, but his expression remained deadly serious.

"I'll see you tomorrow, love, when you finally get to meet my real best friend," I teased. Liam was due in tomorrow afternoon and was coming to meet me at the gallery and have a look around before we went home. I'd been ranting and raving about it for weeks, and Garrett was a little jealous that his New York counterpart would be here, competing for my love and affection.

"Whatever," he scoffed, "he's probably gotten fat and gone bald and then you'll realise that I'm the only one for you."

"Awww, green doesn't suit you, Garrett," I cooed.

"Everything suits me. I'm fucking gorgeous."

"Touché," I agreed, before kissing him goodbye and unlocking the door.

"Wait!" he called, and I turned in the doorway to face him again. "Are you sure there isn't room for one more in your plans tonight?" he asked hopefully, and I giggled loudly at him.

"Unfortunately no, but if we ever change our minds, you'll be the first to know."

"Damn right I will," he said before blowing me a kiss and continuing on his path home. I closed the door and shucked my coat and heels, still giggling about Garrett's feelings for Edward, when I was abruptly concerned by the smell of something burning. Particularly because I was meant to be the only person home. I walked quickly towards the kitchen only to find that the smell was accompanied by a sound, specifically a familiar, velvety voice releasing a string of profanities.

"Edward?" I called, trying not to laugh.

"Shit!" I heard from the other side of the kitchen door. "Shit, shit, shit!"

I pushed the door open to see the love of my life hunched over a frying pan, the contents of which I could not decipher. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his top two shirt buttons undone, and his hair looked like it had been thoroughly ravaged by his hands.

"What are you doing?" I cried and he looked up, irritated and perplexed.

"I don't even fucking know what I'm doing. I followed the fucking recipe to the letter and then this shit happens," he growled, thrusting the pan in my direction so I can get a better look at the blackened mess within. I took in the scene for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter, tears streaming down my face as my body doubled over with the force of it.

"You think this is funny, do you?" he asked darkly before tossing the pan in the sink and quickly snatching me up into his arms. I struggled valiantly as he paraded though the house, finally managing to free myself from his grip. I launched myself out of his hold and started running, laughing gleefully as I heard a low growl and then his footfalls as he gave chase.

As adrenalin pumped through my body at the thought of being hunted, I bolted down the hallway and then rounded the corner into the living room, not anticipating that my stocking-covered feet would slide on the polished floorboards. I completely lost my balance, tumbling over in what could only be described as an inadvertent commando roll before gently banging into the wall behind me.

"I've got you now," Edward taunted as he entered the room and closed in on me. His face changed from victory to horror as he saw my eyes well up with tears and my hand move to rub my injured head.

"I hit my head," I moaned woefully, knowing full well that he would completely lose his desire to win the chase if he thought I was in any pain.

"Shit baby," he cooed as he crouched down beside me, "are you ok?"

In a lightning fast move, I used his body as a vault to launch myself back up into the air and then started running once more, pausing in the archway of the room to take in his shocked expression.

"Sucker!" I yelled before bolting back into the hall and out of his sight.

I darted off as quietly as possible, trying to sneak up the stairs without him catching me on the way. Much to my delight, it worked. I slipped into the bedroom and hid from him, listening intently as he prowled around downstairs, trying to find me.

"Bella," he called, "where are you, princess?"

I stifled a laugh. Suddenly, everything went silent and I began to get nervous. From my position in our walk-in wardrobe, I had the benefit of being unseen but the drawback of having little to no concept of what was going on outside of my hiding spot.

"Bella?" his voice sounded again, much, much closer than it had been before, scaring the life out of me. I squeaked with shock and then realised that I had sealed my own fate. I was now trapped in this room, with no escape, and him only feet away. I could almost hear his smug smile.

"I know you're in there princess," he said in a lilting voice. He was dragging this out, toying with me before he claimed his victory. I knew that the game was over, and that I had lost, so I fished one of his white t-shirts out of his drawer and opened the wardrobe door a fraction. I stuck my arm through and waved my white flag, acknowledging my surrender. He laughed at my silly gesture and then I felt his fingers wrap around my exposed wrist, pulling me out of the wardrobe and into his arms.

"Very cute," he chuckled before effortlessly lifting me up and tossing me on the bed, earning him a girlish scream when he caught me completely off guard. He crawled up the bed and positioned himself on top of me.

"Now," he said in a deeper voice, "onto your terms of surrender. Term number one, the clothes have to go," he said, tugging at the hem of my dress.

"What terms?" I asked incredulously, "I agreed to no terms." I pressed my hands to his shoulders, putting an arm's length between our faces to stop him from distracting me with kisses, as per his usual style. "Terms are yet to be set, oh valiant conqueror."

"I like that," he mused, "you should call me that all the time."

"But then who would I call peaches?" I asked innocently.

"I'll peaches you," he growled at me, then proceeded to snap his teeth together as he pretended to struggle against my arms like a contained predator. I laughed and squealed at his theatrics, trying in vain to squirm away from him. His hands gripped my hips, preventing me from rubbing against him and without him supporting his own weight, my arms quickly gave out, allowing his face to drop to my neck.

He bit down gently before swiping his tongue over the place he had marked and I quickly forgot why I was struggling against him at all. One of my legs hitched over his hip and my hands knotted into his hair as he continued to lick and nip at my neck, then my jaw, then his mouth was on mine. My hands drifted down his back, yanking at the back of his shirt and he leaned back, allowing me to move swiftly through the buttons with a now practiced ease. His shirt was quickly dumped on the floor, followed by my dress, and then his pants, shoes and socks.

"Much better," I mumbled before nipping at his ear lobe, loving the low grunt it elicited from him. He wrapped his arms around my body, arching my back up so that he could unhook my bra. He fumbled for a moment, before pulling back to look at me, confused.

"Front clasp," I said with a waggle of my eyebrows before moving my hands to the small black clasp in between my breasts. I unhooked it with ease, but then held the two cups together, purposefully obstructing his view as he stared at my chest with anticipation in his eyes.

After a few moments, his lovely green eyes met mine once more.

"Well?" he prodded.

"You have to earn these kinds of privileges," I taunted him, and he scowled.

"I think you've forgotten, dear Bella, about the terms of surrender."

"How could I ever have been so foolish?" I said dramatically, before removing the bra as per the terms.

"I've let that rule slide far too many times of late," he muttered against my now exposed breasts, and then took my nipple into his mouth.

"It's understandable," I gasped as the sensation zapped through me like an electric current, "someone you age can't be expected to remember everything."

He growled and ran his teeth over my peak as he pulled away, a little more roughly than he normally would. I squeaked at the feeling, that was anything but unpleasant.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" he murmured has his fingers hooked around my panties and slowly started sliding them down. His fingertips against my legs made me shiver in anticipation. My body knew what was coming, and was absolutely thrilled.

"Have you taken your Viagra yet?" I asked innocently. "I don't feel like waiting."

"You are not funny," he told me seriously, before drawing himself back up my body and kissing me firmly.

"I think you'll find I'm hilarious," I said around his mouth, and he exhaled heavily, feigning annoyance.

"Bella, I'm kissing you now, so can you shut up," he said and then his tongue slid into my mouth, effectively stopping me from my rambling. Sick of all our chatting anyway, I slid my hands back into his hair, revelling in the feeling of his soft, perfectly tuggable strands running through my fingers. He hummed appreciatively, and the noise shot straight to my girl parts.

I flexed my hips up at him, giving him a less than subtle hint that I wanted him, and was relieved when he smirked against my mouth and I felt his hand trailing slowly down my stomach. A single finger grazed over my centre, and my hips bucked at the contact. I moaned into his mouth, using all of my wiles to encourage him, and yet he seemed unaffected, taking his time to slowly trace over all my most sensitive places with such a light pressure that it was almost worse than not being touched at all.

I make a keening, whiny sound to express my dissatisfaction. He chuckled against my mouth, and I tugged on his hair pleadingly.

"Edward," I whimpered, "stop being mean to -"

His fingers pressed down harder and I cut off my own sentence with a unintentionally loud moan.

"Better?" he asked, his voice teasing, and I nodded frantically as his head dropped back to my shoulders, pressing wet kisses and soft nips across my décolletage. His fingers rubbed me, casually stroking up and down with no rhyme or reason and driving me insane as the tension started mounting deep in my stomach.

"More," I managed to gasp out.

"More of what?" he asked, and I grimaced, because he knew exactly what I wanted.

"Anything," I pleaded, hoping it would appease him. I felt one, then two fingers push into me and I gasped, overjoyed. The fingers curved and then began stroking me firmly, and my legs started shaking in response, my back arching up towards his mouth.

"God, you're beautiful," he groaned, and his fingers quickened. My hips started undulating, moving in tandem with his hands to maximise the delicious feeling he was giving me, and my breathing became laboured and irregular. My left hand tightened further in his hair, and using all the willpower that I had in the world, I used my right hand to push him away from me.

"Bella?"

"I don't want… that, " I mumbled, barely able to put a sentence together in my keyed up state. "I want you." Just to reinforce my message, I pulled my foot up to push at his boxers, making it painfully obvious what I was referring to.

"Eager, are we princess?" he teased, while shucking his boxers at a rate that clearly betrayed his own eagerness.

"Yes," I groaned as his weight settled back over me. I loved the feeling of this, it was as though my skin could remember his touch, and it derived relief from being reconnected to him. There was no other feeling like it, the relaxation and the tension all at once.

It was magnificent.

I reached down, wrapping my fingers around his length, and sent a little prayer up thanking whoever invented the contraceptive shot before guiding him into me. We both sighed as we were connected fully, and my hands slid up over his back, my short nails biting slightly into the skin there as I pulled him close.

Paired with the prior teasing, it was only a couple of moments before my body started tensing and my orgasm crashed over me. I cried out, tightening my grip around Edward's shoulders and holding myself to his body as I shuddered my way through my release. He kissed me firmly, swallowing my long moan as my body started to relax, and I could feel the smirk on his lips. He slowed down, moving his hips slowly as my body recovered.

"Jesus, Bella," he laughed quietly, still moving.

"What can I say," I murmured in between ragged breaths and kisses, "I'm a two pump chump."

He chuckled again and then I tilted my hips, distracting him abruptly from our chat as he hit a new angle.

"Fuck, that's good," he groaned, and I nodded, arching my back to let him in deeper. This put my breasts almost directly in his face, and he immediately lowered his mouth to them, heightening the feeling that was already starting to build in me again. My skin was hypersensitive, but Edward knew exactly how to move, and touch, without pushing too far, so the rolling waves of pleasure started to consume me once more.

He leaned back, leaving my entire body exposed to him, and when his thumb started rubbing at my clit, my whole frame jolted at the sensation. It bordered on too much, pleasure to the point of almost pain, but the idea of him stopping was incomprehensible. A high-pitched, breathy noise came out of my mouth, a wordless plea for him to keep doing what he was doing.

"Is that good, princess?" he cooed in his deep, ragged voice. His thrusts were speeding up as he moved closer to his release, bringing me along with him.

"Yes," I sighed, one of my hands tangling into my hair while the other grasped at the sheets of our bed.

"Hmm?" he questioned lowly, his pace slowly ever so slightly. This meant he wanted a response from me. I honestly wasn't sure I could conjure anything, but in my desperation to keep him moving, I opened my mouth anyway.

"Yes, it's good… fuck, it is so, so good…"

I could almost hear his smile as his speed started to steadily increase once more. He leaned back over me, pressing hips lips to my throat as his body continued to work me into a frenzy.

"Are you going to come for me?" he whispered, and then dragged his teeth along my collar bone, pausing to suck on the skin. I was writhing under him, frantically trying to process the feelings building in me. My fingertips and legs were tingling, the burn moving inwards until it inevitably consumed me.

"Let it go for me, princess," he coaxed, just as I hit the point of no return. The tingling in my limbs turned to full on tremors as my toes curled and my head dug into his shoulder, seeking something, anything to hold onto to as my eyes lost focus and my mind went blank. I bit into his shoulder, trying to soften the scream that was trying to escape my throat, and my entire body curled around him, my legs around his waist and my arms around his chest. His thrusts lost their rhythm as he neared his own release, pumping three more times before he groaned quietly and gave himself over to his orgasm.

When I finally regained my awareness, I leaned back slightly to see the perfectly round bite mark I'd left on Edward's shoulder. I giggled and kissed it, feeling a little bit guilty but at the same time, a little bit proud of myself. I released him from the prison of my limbs and he leaned back, giving me a big smile that I only giggled harder at. He kissed me softly and then made a show of looking at the bite mark.

"Jesus, princess, does cannibalism turn you on or something?" he laughed as he rolled off me, flopping down on the bed by my side.

"Lucky your skin is so weathered by time, or I probably would have drawn blood," I shot back as I climbed off the bed. I looked over my shoulder to see him scowling at me.

"Oh wow, Bella, you're on fire tonight," he deadpanned, looking thoroughly unimpressed, although I knew he wasn't angry with me.

"Thanks!" I said brightly before walking over to the en suite door. I stopped in the frame, and looked at him over my naked shoulder.

"Thanks for cooking me dinner," I said cheekily, and watching his expression turn dark.

"Oh that's it," he growled and launched off the bed. Squealing with laughter, I slammed the bathroom door and locked it, knowing he could hear me laughing at him when he tried, unsuccessfully, to open the door. The door knob stopped rattling and I climbed into the shower, giggling proudly at getting away with my cheekiness.

That was, until the door swung open.

Edward stepped into the bathroom, triumphantly holding up a small key. After a second of shock, I screamed and made a break for it, despite being soaking wet. He caught me with ease, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me up, then dumped me playfully in the shower and followed me in, laughing the whole time.

* * *

When Liam walked through the door of the gallery the next afternoon, I thought I was going to faint with joy. I launched myself into his skinny arms, hugging him too me while I squealed excitedly and he just laughed.

"Did you get taller?" I asked, shocked at how much of a giant he really was.

"Nope, but I did get hotter," he said with a wink. I took a step back to take him in, and he struck a pose. He was wearing skin tight black jeans tucked into combat boots, a baggy tank top and an unbuttoned denim shirt with a long necklace. His hair was peroxide blonde and immaculately styled, as per usual, and he was lovely.

"Very true. Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"Glad to hear it," he grinned, before stooping down to hug me again. We separated and his eyes darted around, taking in the gallery.

"Wow," he noted, "this place is great, Bella. I never thought I'd be one to blaspheme this way against the mother land, but it's better than your gallery in New York." I giggled at this, because Liam was one of those New Yorkers who believed wholeheartedly that no other city in the world could even compare to theirs. "Are you going to be showing here?"

I blushed a little. Talking about my professional successes always made me shy.

"Actually, I am. In three months I'll have a small collection put together and it'll be shown here."

"That's fantastic baby!" he said, enveloping me in another hug that I happily returned. I hadn't realised just how much I'd missed him, as busy as I'd been in my London life. Another excited squeal burst from me, garnering the attention of Garrett, who entered the main gallery at a slight jog, looking confused.

"Bella, love, what the hell are you screa - oh."

He locked eyes with Liam, and they appraised each other, neither willing to break the stare. It was the gay man equivalent of when straight men shake hands and try to break each other's fingers. They gazed at each other, a look of derision on both their faces as they took in what they perceived to be the competition.

"Garrett," I said loudly, trying to break them from their silent battle, "I'd like you to meet Liam."

Garrett's face immediately shifted to a nonchalant expression.

"Oh, you're the New Yorker," he said in a disinterested tone as he picked at his fingernails.

"I am," Liam responded just as casually, "and you must be… actually, I don't know who you are."

I took in the scene before me, both of them standing as far away from each other as possible, engaging in ridiculous, passive aggressive conversation. I wasn't sure whether to smack them over their heads, or laugh.

"Both of you stop it," I chided, deciding enough was enough. "The last thing I need is for you two to let your bitchiness get in the way of my enjoying this weekend. I adore you equally, end of discussion."

They both looked down, appropriately abashed, and I felt a bit bad for my outburst.

"I was your friend first," Liam muttered under his breath, but it was definitely loud enough for us both to hear.

"Yeah," Garrett scoffed, "and she ran to another continent to get away from you. I bet you feel really special."

Liam gasped and took a step in Garrett's direction, puffing up his bony chest to try and look as threatening as possible. Neither men were particularly frightening, but Liam was the taller of the two, and would probably fare best if this fight got physical. Which it never, ever would. Both men loved their hair too much for such pursuits.

"Liam," I said lowly, grabbing his wrist, "let's go."

Liam stalked over to the front doors with his ridiculously huge suitcase in tow, waiting as I grabbed my purse and coat.

"You," I said with an accusing finger at Garrett, "are a real ass sometimes, do you know that? Just for today, you get no details about last night, and believe me when I say, there were some good ones."

Garrett groaned dramatically before he flopped down onto a couch, pouting. Liam looked thoroughly triumphant, until I reached him and turned my glare in his direction.

"You're not in the clear either, buddy," I told him ominously before pushing the door open and walking out into the afternoon air. We trudged along in silence, Liam looking nowhere near as penitent as I thought he should have been. Eventually, I sighed, breaking the silence between us. Liam smiled, knowing he was in the clear.

"So…"

"So…" I mimicked.

"He's really ugly."

"No, he isn't."

"He's fat as fuck."

"No, he isn't."

"His accent is stupid."

"No, Liam, it isn't."

He huffed.

"Why did you have to befriend him, sweetcheeks? Of all the people in this second rate city, why him?"

This left me a bit baffled.

"Uh… because we work together and he was basically the first person I met here?"

"Not good enough," he pouted. I grabbed his arm as we arrived at my building and forced him to look at me.

"What's the problem, Liam?"

"He's almost as hot as me!" he wailed, looking legitimately distressed by this. I rolled my eyes.

"Get over it, bub. Now let's go inside, Edward's home." At the very mention of my boyfriend, Liam perked up, darting up the stairs, suitcase in hand, like an excited child. Laughing, I unlocked the door and he barrelled inside.

"Honey, we're home!" he called loudly, and I could sense Edward somewhere in the house, groaning. He strolled through the kitchen door a moment later, a surprisingly genuine smile on his face. Liam was beaming.

"Hello peaches," he said to Edward, getting a light, swoon-worthy laugh in response.

"Hey Liam… how was your flight?"

"None of that matters," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "where's my bedroom?"

"Up the stairs, second door on the left," I told him, and he ran off, apparently eager to check out his room. Edward had made the rookie mistake of telling Liam that he'd offered up a room in our home as his permanent bedroom, and Liam had held him to that promise. Accordingly, one of the bedrooms in our house in no way matched the scheme of the rest. But, it was Liam, and I loved him, so I let him run wild.

Edward opened his arms, a wordless invitation. I took two slow, coy steps forward and then burst into a run, leaping into his arms and latching my legs around his hips. He just laughed at my theatrics, moving to support my weight with his hands as we kissed in greeting.

"Hi," I murmured as I buried my face in his neck to absorb his lovely smell.

"Hi. How were Liam and Garrett?"

"Like bitchy sorority girls…they were terrible." Even though my tone was annoyed, I couldn't keep the smile off my face when I thought of their showdown.

"Are you surprised?"

"Not at all."

"Oh my god," Liam cried from upstairs, "I love it! This is the best day ever!"

There was a beat of silence before Edward and I burst into quiet laughter. I tangled my hands up into his hair as our giggles died down and he looked at me questioningly.

"Hi," I murmured.

"Hi yourself."

I smirked as I pressed my mouth his. We stayed like that, kissing in the hallway, me in his arms, until the sound of Liam descending the stairs and gagging disrupted us.

"You two should be the poster couple for adultery. I swear, if anyone could make it look appealing, it'd be the pair of you, canoodling. Now can you please stop that before I vomit all over your pretty townhouse? I'm hungry, where's good to eat around here?"

Without waiting for a response from either of us, he wandered off, presumably to explore the parts of the house that he hadn't seen yet. I laughed and tapped Edward's hands, which were firmly placed on my butt.

"Down," I instructed him. He huffed dramatically, but did as I asked.

"So bossy. I don't know why I put up with you," he grumbled playfully.

"Because you love me," I accused.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing our chests together.

"I do love you."

I kissed him sweetly and smiled.

"Hey! Are we eating or what?" Liam yelled from the other room. With a small sigh, I stepped out of Edward's embrace, pausing only to run my fingertips along his lightly stubbled jaw.

"I love you too, peaches."

He grimaced, and I laughed, before stepping forward and once more pressing my lips to his.

**THE END**

**AN: Somebody hold me?**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed, all those who pimped me, and all those who bothered to read this mofo. I adore you all. There'll be an epilogue, I promise. Much love and robporn to all of you.**

***smooch***


	32. Epilogue

**AN: a few of you asked me to email you, but didn't give me your emails, you silly rabbits! if you'd like me to send you a super-sexy email, just ask your questions and give me your email. make sure to break it up because ffn can be a mofo about these things.**

**eg. white_lies_is_awesome youreababe . com - note the spacing! that's not my email btw.**

**Now, on with the show.**

**Epilogue**

_"Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore, so do our minutes, hasten to their end."_

_William Shakespeare_

**Bella POV**

"You were right by the way," Liam said absently as he fiddled with my dress for what felt like the millionth time that day. He then reached up and minutely adjusted my fascinator, before doing the same with his own.

"Of course I was," I sniffed arrogantly, "but what was specific thing are you referring to?"

"The veil. It would have been too much."

I nodded in agreement.

"The fascinators look much cuter on us," I noted. "And this way, we get to match." He hummed, looked us over, and gave a satisfied nod.

"I can't believe this is happening. Did you ever, ever, in a million years think that this day would arrive?"

"Never," I confirmed. We looked ourselves over in the mirror once more before linking arms and walking out to take our place at the bottom of the aisle.

I wasn't lying. I never ever thought that Liam and I would find ourselves here… walking down the aisle together. We'd made a drunken agreement that we would give each other away at our weddings, but it had never once occurred to me that it would actually happen.

And yet, here we were.

"It's weird how right it feels that we're doing this together," he noted.

"Err, this isn't some kind of last minute I've-just-realised-I'm-straight-and-in-love-with-you-because-in-20-minutes-I-won't-be-able-to-have-you kind of thing is it?" I asked, feigning discomfort. He just laughed as we waited for our cue to start walking. He looked down, fidgeting with his tie slightly. I pulled his hand away.

"Stop. You look great."

"So do you, baby girl," he told me, looking uncharacteristically misty-eyed. "I'm so glad I got you into that dress, I knew the moment I saw it that it was the one." I felt my own eyes start stinging with unshed tears as we shared this last moment before the next chapter of our lives started.

"Promise me we'll always be friends, even when we're married and lame," I pleaded, and he nodded emphatically.

"Of course! And we'll never be lame."

"I love you, Liam," I said weakly, and he gave a watery laugh.

"I love you too, baby girl. Now stop blubbering, we're going to ruin our makeup." I giggled at that before the wedding planner gave us our cue and we linked our arms together tightly, leaning on each other for strength.

"We can do this," he said quietly.

"Yes, we can," I agreed before we took the first step.

We took the walk slowly, both of us taking in the beauty of the room around us. He really had done a miraculous job of planning the wedding, it was understated but beautiful. Flowers adorned ever surface of the marquee, but not in a superfluous way, and a crowd of about 50 guests sat in chairs lining the aisle. Natural light streamed in from the sides of the tent, basking us all in a warm glow (that would look very flattering in photos, Liam had pointed out).

It was perfect.

"Look," he muttered lowly, his lips not moving due to the constant flash of cameras. "11'o'clock."

I directed my gaze discretely to my left, only to lay eyes on a large woman, wearing a horrific pastel pink dress made of chiffon and a wide-brimmed, matching hat. Trust Liam to be critiquing people's outfits while we're walking down the aisle. Unable to stop myself, a loud, unladylike laugh burst from my lips, causing everyone in the room to look at me in surprise.

Liam elbowed me sharply in the ribs, silently telling me to get my act together, and I quickly plastered my most photogenic smile back on my face. I shot a small glance at Edward, sitting in the 2nd to front row, only to see him with a knowing smirk. Apparently, my outburst didn't surprise him in the least.

Liam's eyes were focused on the end of the aisle now as he starred at Garrett, who was waiting for him, tears already streaming down his face. The loving look in his eye was almost uncomfortable to gaze at, it seemed such a private thing. I knew without looking at my best friend that his expression was identical, I could feel the contentment and happiness rolling off him in waves.

Liam took his place at the small podium beside his fiancé, and I took mine, just beside him. I was the best woman, and Garrett's brother, Randall, stood at Garrett's side, looking just as happy for the couple as I'm sure I did. The pair clasped hands and the music ended.

The celebrant cleared his voice and started the ceremony, and I watched as my best friend gave himself to the man that he loved. I found myself quietly crying while they exchanged vows and rings, a little overwhelmed by the moment, and honesty, a little disbelieving that they'd ever arrived at this point, particularly considering how they'd met only 18 months before, as arch rivals for my friendship.

Now, Liam had moved to London, they were sharing Garrett's apartment, which was not far from mine and Edward's place, and today they were getting married.

The ceremony ended and the crowd burst into applause as the pair shared their first kiss as a married couple, then jogged down the aisle together, hand in hand with smiles on their faces. I was right, the veil would have been ridiculous, and his fascinator was perfect.

The crowd started dispersing, no doubt making their way over to the nearby reception tent. I slowly stepped off the podium and wandered over to where Edward was waiting for me. I reached out and took his hand, feeling a little bit weepy and girly. He smiled softly and pulled me to his body, then kissed my lips gently.

"You looked beautiful up there."

"Thanks… it's not like there was a lot of competition." I'd been the only woman standing up there.

"Shhh," he cut me off, looking around conspiratorially, "if Liam hears you saying that, it'd ruin his day."

I laughed and rested my head on his broad chest. He pulled back, coughing and I looked up at him confusedly.

"What's wrong?"

"I just got a mouthful of feathers," he grumbled, poking his tongue out. "What's with those, anyway?"

"A veil would have been too much," I deadpanned, and he laughed. I was wearing a small, feathered fascinator, a more low key version of Liam's rather extravagant headwear. When we saw them, Liam recalled that he'd been wearing a peacock feather on a necklace the day he and Garrett had first met, declared it an omen, and bought them at once. It was sweet, but in a very Liam way.

We walked slowly hand in hand across to the other tent, where Liam and Garrett were standing, surrounded by their friends and family, doing whatever it is brand newly-wedded couples have to do. Liam was wearing a white blazer as part of his suit, saying that just because it was two men getting married, didn't mean that they couldn't wear white. I reminded Liam that he was in no means in a position to be wearing white, and he'd flipped me off and ignored me. Garrett was in a conventional, albeit extremely well fitted suit, as with the majority of the other guests. It was a beautiful picture, and I pulled out the small digital camera I had stashed in my purse and took a few snaps. Edward chuckled beside me, used to my doing this at the randomest of times.

Toasts were made, food was consumed, and the newly married couple took to the dance floor, folding into each other's arms like there was no one else in the marquee with them. Shortly after, others joined them on the floor, and Edward, being Edward, dragged me up there with them. As much as I pouted about the idea of this kind of dancing, the idea of getting close to him was enough of an incentive for me.

Frank Sinatra's voice filled the marquee, crooning gently as the couples swayed.

_"Some others I've seen,_

_Might never be mean,_

_Might never be cross,_

_Or try to be boss,_

_But they wouldn't do,_

_For nobody else,_

_gave me a thrill,_

_With all your faults,_

_I love you still,_

_It had to be you,_

_wonderful you,_

_it had to be you."_

In the context of Liam and Garrett's relationship, the song seemed a little ironic, but that made the moment all that much sweeter. I peeked over Edward's shoulder to see the pair completely absorbed in each other as they drifted around the floor.

It was almost sickening, but my heart swelled for my best friend.

"You really don't want to do this, ever?" Edward asked as he wrapped his arm around my waist and knotted our hands over his heart. I nodded.

"As beautiful as today has been, I can't think of anything worse than it being me in Liam's shoes. Would you really want to do it again?"

He looked at me thoughtfully.

"Maybe," he murmured with a squeeze of my hand, "if I found the right girl to do it with. I'll let you know when if I meet her."

I scowled.

"You're hilarious."

"At least one of us has to be."

I pinched the arm that my free hand was resting on, and he stared at me, horrified.

"Always with the abuse with you. Learn to use your words, Bella."

I pinched him again. He laughed, and I rested my head against his chest as he effortlessly manoeuvred us around the floor.

"Anyway," I said, reopening our conversation, "there's nothing that a marriage will give us that we don't already have. I know you're mine, I don't need the piece of paper to prove it."

"So possessive," he murmured, "I think I like it."

"Shut up. Obviously, sex before marriage isn't a problem for you, so I'm happy."

"Why buy the cow when you're getting the milk for free, right?" he teased.

"Exactly," I agreed. "And I'm much too fickle with my jewellery. Imagine having to commit to either wearing gold or silver every single day," I shuddered. He laughed again, and I smiled as the vibrations ran through my cheek.

"But," I concluded, "if I ever change my mind, you'll be the first to know."

"I would certainly hope so," he said seriously, and I just giggled at the fake suspicion in his voice.

The song then changed to another I recognised, so I sang quietly along with Doris Day as we floated around the room. Edward pulled back, looking at me with a shocked expression.

"What is this? My little music snob knows Crosby?"

"Yes," I huffed, scowling at him until the playful smile on his face made it impossible for me to even think of being grumpy with him.

"_Think of my life long sorrow if you caught pneumonia and died_," he sang along with the song, and I couldn't help but swoon at a little at his velvety voice.

"Sing about my death, how charming," I sniffed, and he chuckled before spinning me out and then pulling me back to his chest. Instead of holding me there, he dipped me low, getting a shocked, high-pitched giggle from me in return. He pulled me back up and kissed me firmly, using the arm around my waist to lift me off the floor a little.

Of course someone like him would have been taught to dance like that. Esme strikes again in raising the world's most perfect gentlemen.

When he set me down, I crossed my arms across my chest, pretending to be peturbed. In reality, I was light-headed and more than a little turned on.

"You think you're so smooth don't you?" I bristled.

"Is it working?" he asked, completely unaffected by my grumpiness.

"No," I huffed. A moment passed before I dropped my hands abruptly to my sides and stepped back into his embrace. "Completely," I admitted reluctantly. He laughed lowly in my ear, holding me tightly to his body.

"Do you wanna get out of here, princess?" he cooed in my ear, and I shivered.

"Absolutely."

_…and they all lived happily ever after._

**AN: Here's a secret. I'm a huge, HUGE jazz nerd.**

**The songs are It Had To Be You by Frank Sinatra, and Baby It's Cold Outside by Bing Crosby and Doris Day. Nothing is more romantic than old jazz. Nothin'.**

**Alright, enough stalling. **

**We've reached the end of our little tale.**

***Tear***

**I can't believe this is over. I've loved writing it, and getting to chat with all you flooze-bags about it, and every single detail of the whole experience. So thank you, each and every one of y'all. Special love to Fangmom, who has talked me off the cliff more than once, and of course, AmeryMarie. Smooches and robporn and pics of me in ridiculous costumes for you, big.**

**I'll catch you ladies on the flip side.**


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